H'ljii'jH^vH'ii-i ii : i.-'- 
diiisliv^i^^ir'-ii^:: 'r^V-'- 



i! 



'm 













\.\ .)■ 



:>0'' 



o 0^ 









/. 






.0 






r~. y ^*.>a- ft o 









.0 0. 



^ ^^ 



N \v 



^^. 



,0^ 



;%^ 












-•y" 



o^^\ 



^^ -^c^. 









*^: 









^^^. 



.V 



^/S^" 



^ ,<^ .^ 



V " 

^ l<? ^ 



^^%, 






S^. .^ - f"' 



^dlTT^i' 



O- 












rP^ i. 



^0- 



"U ,<<^' 



.>o. 



...., V* 






^-^^S^ 

■X^^'' ^-. 



,^^ ■''^. 



-^ %'^^^^->^ -^ ^ 






^0^ 



V^ ,. ^ * " /• ^ 



.'^■ 



\^^ 



v-i^' 



V- .\- 







''^i> .^^^ 



.^ . 



'.\ 






^^^^ 















^-'^« 



.^s 



i i^v 



<^ 



^ ^' . ■"<^. 



• 0' c«^ ^' -P 



''/ ^ 






A\''' 






:/^- 



x^^^ 






'<\ 



\ - 

V 



'o. 









\^-' 



^./. 



A^' 



^^' -.. 



^'^'' .^v^^' 



^ \ 1 fl 






.^'' 






P 



-,\. 






EMBROIDERY 

OR THE CRAFT OF 
THE NEEDLE m j& 



EMBROIDERY 

OR THE CRAFT OF 
THE NEEDLE m m 



By 

W. G. PAULSON TOWNSEND 

u 
Design Master at the Royal School of Art Needlework 

Author of " Measured Drawings of French Furniture " 

" Plant and Floral Studies," etc. 

Assisted by 

LOUISA F. PESEL 



WITH PREFACE BY WALTER CRANE 



CONTAINING 86 ILLUSTRATIONS 



NEW YORK 

FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 



^ 






PIUNTED AND BOUND BY 

HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD. 

LONDON AND AYLESBURy, 

ENGLAND. 









^ 



/ 



K 



PREFACE. 

In that remarkable revival of the arts and 
handicrafts of design, which has, curiously 
enough, characterised the close of a century 
of extraordinary mechanical invention and 
commercial development, that most domestic, 
delicate, and charming of them all, perhaps, 
the craft of the needle, holds a very distinct 
position. 

In its various applications needlework 
covers an extensive field, and presents 
abundant scope both for design and crafts- 
manship, from the highly imaginative kind 
— represented by such designs as those of 
Burne-Jones — to the simplest and most 
reserved ornamental hem upon a child's 
frock. The true order of its development, 
indeed, is rather from the child's frock 
to the imaginative tapestry-like hanging — 
from the embroidered smock of the peasant 
to the splendour of regal and ecclesiastical 



vi Preface. 

robes, with all their pomp of heraldry and 
symbolism . 

In the history of needlework, no less than 
in that of all art, one may follow the course 
of human history upon which it is the 
decorative commentary and accompaniment, 
just as the illuminated initials, borders, and 
miniatures are the artist's commentary on 
the books of the Middle Ages. 

If taste can be said to be of more import- 
ance in one art than another, it is certainly 
all important in needlework. It enters in 
at every stage — in planning appropriate 
design, in choice of scale, in choice of 
materials, and, above all, of colour. 

Embroidery is essentially a personal art, 
and this, perhaps, in addition to the fact of 
its adaptability, not only to daily domestic 
use and adornment, but also to ordinary 
conditions — not requiring special workshop 
or expensive plant for its production — has 
contributed to the success of its revived 
practice, which is due to the enthusiasm, 
taste, and patience of our countrywomen. 

Even considered as an art of expression — 
over and above, although of course never 
dissociated from, its decorative value — the 
work of the needle within its own limits, and 



Preface. vii 

by its own special means and materials, has 
quite a distinct value ; certain textures and 
surfaces, such as the plumage of birds and the 
colour and surfaces of flowers, being capable 
of being rendered by the needle with a 
beauty and truth beyond the ordinary range 
of pictorial art. 

In the retinue of beauty, among her sister 
crafts of design, Embroidery, then, seems 
likely to hold her place. 

Revived at first by a few ladies of taste 
and skill, important schools, such as the 
Royal School of Art Needlework, have since 
been founded for the study and practice of 
the art, the subject being now included in 
their list by the Technical Education Board 
of the London County Council. 

The foundation-stone has just been laid of 
the new building in Exhibition Road, which 
is to house the Royal School in its new de- 
velopment, and under such able instructors 
and lecturers as the author of this work, 
needlework, as an art, should have an im- 
portant future before it. 

Mr. W. G. Paulson Townsend deals with 
the subject mainly from the practical point 
of view, although not unmindful of the his- 
toric side ; and in view of the great interest 



viii Preface. 

now taken in the craft, and its many fol- 
lowers, such a work, with its reproductions 
of existing examples and its practical dia- 
grams of stitches, will be both timely and 
useful. 

WALTER CRANE. 

Kensington, 

June 2gth, 1899. 



EXTRACTS FROM AUTHOR'S 

PREFACE TO THE FIRST 

EDITION. 

In response to the inquiries repeatedly re- 
ceived from students for a handbook on 
embroidery, I have endeavoured to place 
before them the following hints and sugges- 
tions ; to supply a want, and fill a space at 
present unoccupied. 

My first duty and pleasure is to thank 
Mr. Walter Crane for the Preface which he 
has kindly written. 

For the practical Plates No. 58, 59, 62, 63, 
64, 65, 66, and 67, for description to same, 
also for figs. 23 and 24 on Plate No. 61, I 
am indebted to Miss Louisa F. Pesel, and for 
valuable help in numerous other ways. I 
have also to thank Miss C. L. Pickering for 
the practical notes on gold embroidery, and 
for Plates No. 69 and 70. 

Perhaps it is hardly necessary to refer to 
the source of each item of information. I 



X Aittkoj's Preface to First Edition. 

have freely used Dr. Rock's " Textile 
Fabrics " ; the South Kensington Hand- 
books, both by Sir G. Birdwood and Sir R. 
Murdock Smith ; Mr. Alan Cole's " Orna- 
ment in European Silks " ; Mr. Walter 
Crane's " Bases of Design " ; Miss A. 
Strickland's " Queens of England " ; and 
the writings of Messrs. Audsley. 

I have to thank the Right Hon. the 
Viscount Falkland for kindly allowing me to 
reproduce the pillow case, Plate No. 27 
Mrs. Pesel for pillow case, Plate No. 30 
Sir W. Drake for altar-frontal, Plate No. 8 
the Royal School of Art Needlework for 
Plates No. 3, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 41 ; to 
Mr. Selwyn Image for Plate No. 25 ; 
Mr. Walter Crane for Plates No. 23, 24, and 26 ; 
and the South Kensington Museum Autho- 
rities for the assistance given in reproducing 
the examples from the National Collection ; 
also to Mr. W. G. Thomson for his help in 
the preparation of this book. 

W. G. PAULSON TOWNSEND. 

South Kensington, 
June, 1899. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE 
SECOND EDITION. 

The first edition of this handbook was 
pubHshed at a time when no text-book of 
recent production on the subject of em- 
broidery was to be had. Since then, several 
excellent books on needlework have ap- 
peared, but I have reason to believe that 
this revised edition will not be altogether 
unacceptable to those interested in the 
work. It is the duty of every woman to 
learn how to sew, and decorative needlework 
appears to be the natural outcome of the 
practical occupation of the needle, on the 
heels of which it follows so closely. Some 
of the best stitches used in embroidery 
serve a practical purpose in plain sewing. 
The two English smocks illustrated on Plates 
No. 70 and 71 may be looked upon as the 
seamstress's early steps in decorative needle- 
work. There is ample scope for the art in the 
adornment of costumes ; and, in a modest 



xii Atithors Preface to Second Edition. 

way, for the beautifying of household 
Hnen. 

It is hoped that the notes on design will 
be of some assistance to those who have had 
no practice in this branch of the subject. If 
they only make the embroideress stop to 
think a little about the pattern before she 
commences to embroider, these notes will 
at least have served one good purpose. 

To Miss Dorothy Lane my thanks are 
due for preparing the coloured drawing for 
the frontispiece, also for the drawings of 
subjects on page 4 and Plate No. 71 ; to Miss 
Ella M. Carr for the examples of lacis work 
in Plates No. 45 and 47 ; to Miss Mildred 
Statham for the illustrations on " Bargello 
work " and for help with the practical 
description of the work ; and to the Fine 
Needlework Association for permission to 
illustrate the two English smocks on Plates 
No. 70 and 71. 

W. G. P. T. 

October, 1907. 



CONTENTS. 

CHAP. PAGE 

Introduction ...... i 

I. Design as applied to Embroidery . 7 

II. Utility — Method and Material , . 22 

III. Adaptation — Symbolism . . . . t,6 

IV. Description of Designs Illustrated . 54 
V. Implements, Appliances, and Materials 

USED in Embroidery . . . .219 

VI, Ecclesiastical and Heraldic Needle- 

work . . . . . . .235 

VII. Stitches ....... 240 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

/ 

Frontispiece. Quilted Linen Coverlet, embroidered with 
Coloured Silks. English, late seventeenth century 
[532 — 1897, V. & A. M,*]. Reproduced from a 
water-colour drawing prepared by Dorothy 
Lane. 

Line Cut. Fragment of Tapestry and Needlework. 
Christian Coptic, fourth to sixth centuries, page 4 

PLATE NO. 

1. Symbolical Signs (Crosses) . . . page 41 

2. Sacred Monograms and Symbolical Signs ,, 47 

3. Bedspread, Modern, in the Style of English Seven- 

teenth-century Crewel Work. Embroidered at 
the Royal School of Art Needlework page 56 

4. Cotton Hanging. English, seventeenth century. 

Embroidered in coloured wools with leaf 
forms, small flowers, and birds . . page 60 

5. Detail of Cotton Hanging. English, seventeenth 

century. Embroidered in coloured wools 

page 6t, 

6. Leaf in Coloured Wools, from a Linen Hanging. 

English, seventeenth century [1392^ V. & A. M.] 

page 66 

7. No. I. Orphrey. Spanish, about 1550 [248 — 1880, 

V. & A. M.] page 69 

No. II. Orphrey. Spanish, about 1530 [246 — 1880, 

V. & A. M.] page 69 

No. III. Orphrey. Spanish, sixteenth century 

[261 — 1880, V. & A. M.] . . . page 69 

* Victoria and Albert Museum 
XV 



xvi List of Illustrations. 

PLATE NO. 

8. Altar-frontal, Green Silk, ornamented with an 

Applique Pattern. Spanish, sixteenth century. 
The property of Sir W. Drake . . page 72 

9. Border of Blue Satin, Spanish, sixteenth century 

[1 162 — 1877, V. & A. M.] . . . page 75 

10. Wall or Pilaster Hanging, Applique. Italian, six- 

teenth century [841 — 1847, V. & A. M.] page 78 

11. Hanging of Silk and Velvet Patchwork, Applique. 

Spanish, sixteenth century [266 — 1880, V. & 
A. M.] page 81 

12. Portion of a Hanging, Patchwork Applique. 

English, fourteenth century [V. & A. M.] page 83 

13. Patchwork Inlay Panel. Persian, eighteenth 

century. [858— 1892, V. & A. M.] . page 87 

14. Part of a Hanging of Linen embroidered with 

Coloured Silks. Spanish, seventeenth century 
[342 — 1885, V. & A. M.] . . . page 90 

15. Altar-frontal, White Satin, embroidered in Coloured 

Silks and Gold Threads. Spanish, sixteenth 
century ...... page 93 

16. Coronation Robe of His Majesty King Edward VII. 

page 96 

17. Letter-bag, Gold Embroidery, with Groups of 

Pearls for the Flowers . . . page 100 

18. Figure from an Orphrey, embroidered in Coloured 

Silks and Gold Threads. German, middle of 
the fifteenth century [8670 — 1863, V. & A. M.] 

page 103 

19. Portion of an Orphrey from the Premonstratensian 

Abbey of Tronchiennes, near Ghent. Early 
si: Leenth century .... page 106 

20. Portion of a Carpet. Persian, early eighteenth 

century. [859 — 1876, V. & A. M.] . page 109 

2x. The Syon Cope. English, date about 1250 [83 — 

1864, V. & A. M.] .... page 113 

22. Detail from the Syon Cope, English, date about 

1250 [83 — 1864, V. & A, M.] . . page 116 

23. Screen Panel, "Spring." Designed by Walter Crane, 




Quilted Linen Coverlet. Embroidered in 
Coloured Silks. English late 17th Century. 



EMBROIDERY. 



INTRODUCTION. 

We may say the art of embroidery still 
lives, though its position is that of an art 
which has beaten a retreat. Its sphere of 
employment is now a cramped one, and there 
is little likelihood of its ever regaining sway 
and filling those serious and responsible 
functions which were once the very essence 
of its being. To-day it is treated more as a 
graceful diversion or accomplishment, and 
there is little or no diligence in the pursuit 
of it as a great art, although in the present 
revival of the artistic handicrafts there is 
a serious attempt to reanimate the long- 
neglected art of embroidery. The most 
promising feature of the movement is the 
very common-sense view adopted, of turn- 
ing the work to practical purposes. We 
have begun to see the uselessness and ugliness 

B 



2 Embroidery. 

of the so-called " fancy work." The dis- 
covery of an ugliness — ungainly forms and 
crude colours — is the first step towards a 
proper appreciation of beauty. This book 
may be of some assistance to those who be- 
lieve whatever is worth doing at all is worth 
any pains to do well. One's fingers had far 
better be employed than idle, and if by the 
result of such occupation something that 
is already useful is beautified and made in- 
teresting, at the same time not deprived of 
its expression of use and comfort, one is 
fully repaid for the time so spent. 

Embroidery is the art of working with the 
needle — which replaces the pencil, and 
variously tinted threads take the place of 
pigment — some kind of decoration, such as 
fruit, flowers, figures, symbols, etc., on an 
already existent material. It has no organic 
connection with the " stuff " serving as its 
foundation ; it might justly be called a 
gratuitous addition to it. 

Needlework takes precedence of painting, 
as the earliest method of representing figures 
and ornament was by the needle depicted 
upon canvas. Sacerdotal vestments, and 
other objects of ecclesiastical use, were — 
from the first days when such articles were 



Introduction. 3 

employed for religious service — embroidered 
with symbolical and scriptural subjects. 
Babylon was renowned for its craft of the 
needle, and maintained the honour up to 
the first century of the Christian era. 

The Egyptians, with whom the art of 
embroidery was general, and from whom the 
Jews are supposed to have derived their skill 
in needlework, produced figured cloths by 
the needle and the loom, and practised the 
art of introducing gold wire into their work. 
To judge from a passage in Ezek. xxvii. 7, 
they even embroidered the sails of their 
galleys which they exported to Tyre : 
" Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt 
was that which thou spreadest forth to be 
thy sail." 

The reproduction on page 4, prepared from 
a fragment of woven tapestry and needle- 
work found in the ancient tombs of Akhmim- 
Panopolis, in Upper Egypt, is believed 
to be Christian Coptic, and executed at 
some period between the fourth and the 
sixth centuries. Originally it formed part 
of an octagonal panel for a tunic. It is 
worked in coloured wools and flax threads. 
In the centre on a white ground is a purple 
amphora-shaped vase, with ornament in a 



4 Embroideiy. 

white outline, from which springs a con- 
ventional plant with balanced foliage, partly 
encircling a bird. As an early example of 



•^SV^/. ^- 




Fragment of Tapestry and Needlework. Christian 
Coptic, 4th to 6th Centuries. 

patterned fabric produced by the needle 
and the loom it is of very great interest. 
The embroidery is simply in hem stitch, and 
is employed to define the weaving in places. 
We read that in Greece the art was held 



Introditctii 



ion. 



in the greatest honour, and its invention 
ascribed to Minerva. Phrygia became cele- 
brated for the beauty of its needlework. 
The " toga picta," decorated with Phrygian 
embroidery, was worn by the Roman gen- 
erals at their triumphs, and by their consuls 
when they celebrated the games. Em- 
broidery itself is therefore termed in Latin 
" Phrygian," and the Romans are said to 
have known it by no other name. 

It is said Pope Paschal (fifth century), an 
ardent lover of needlework, made many 
splendid donations to the churches. On one 
of his vestments were pictured the wise 
virgins, wonderfully worked ; on another, 
a peacock, in all the gorgeous colours of its 
plumage, on an amber ground. 

In mediaeval times spinning and em- 
broidery, from the palace to the cloister, 
were the occupations of women of all ranks, 
and a sharp strife for superiority existed in 
the production of sacerdotal vestments. 

In the eighth century two sisters, abbesses 
of Valentina in Belgium, became renowned 
for their excellence in all feminine pursuits, 
imposing needlework upon the inmates of 
their convent as a prevention of idleness, the 
most dangerous of all evils. 



6 Embroidery. 

Long before the Conquest English ladies 
were much skilled with the needle. An 
anecdote related by Mathew of Paris is a 
proof of the excellence of English work. 
He tells us, about this time (1246) the Lord 
Pope (Innocent IV.), having noticed that 
the ecclesiastical ornaments of some English- 
men, such as mitres and chorister copes, 
were embroidered in gold thread in a very 
pleasing manner, asked where these works 
were made, and received as answer, " In 
England." Then said the Pope, ** England 
is surely a garden of delights for us ; it is 
truly a never-failing spring, and there, 
where many things abound, much may be 
extorted." 

The Countess of Shrewsbury, better known 
as Bess of Hardwick, was in her day a 
famous embroideress ; also Scotland's queen, 
whose weary hours were beguiled by work 
with her needle. Penshurst, Hatfield, Knole, 
and numerous other English palaces are 
filled with similar souvenirs of royal and 
noble ladies. 



(7) 



CHAPTER I. 

DESIGN AS APPLIED TO 
EMBROIDERY. 

All branches of artistic handicrafts are 
closely linked together in the arts of design. 
Material and method of production only 
separate them, and then the division is, in 
some instances, very subtle indeed. The 
technical line of demarcation between 
tapestry weaving and embroidery is distinct. 
With lace and embroidery it is not so de- 
fined, although there is a great difference 
between embroidery and the fine kinds of 
lace — these crafts do considerably overlap 
in parts. To embroider is to apply some 
kind of pattern to an already existent 
material, to express form by stitches, and it 
is the business of the worker to so arrange 
the stitches as to indicate by their direction 
the fibrous growth of the plant, and the 
varieties of the surface of the objects repre- 
sented. The stitch method must not be con- 



8 Embroidery. 

cealed or disguised, but acknowledged and 
accepted as the principal factor, which can- 
not be separated from the art of embroidery. 

The designer for embroidery has a com- 
paratively free hand compared with the one 
who designs patterns for woven fabrics to 
be executed by the modern power-loom. 
He is evidently working in the wrong direc- 
tion when he attempts to produce designs 
for hand work which can easily be imitated 
and the effect obtained by mechanical 
means. 

The monotonous filling of little squares 
and geometrical forms in repeat, on specially 
prepared canvas with certain fixed colours, 
no longer satisfies the intelligent worker. 
The tameness of its appearance when finished 
tires one, the very smoothness and regularity 
is a defect. Such work should be left to the 
machine to produce. There is an em- 
broidery machine invented of a most in- 
genious kind, which enables one person to 
embroider a repeating design with eighty 
and up to one hundred and forty needles. 
Several of these machines are now mounted 
in France, Germany, and Switzerland, and, 
with some modifications, in Manchester, 
Bradford, Glasgow, and Paisley. Those 



Design as applied to Evibroidery. 9 

persons who control the work for machines 
are wide awake to the commercial value of 
machine-made, embroidery that closely imi- 
tates hand-wrought needlework. It is there- 
fore desirable that the designer for hand- 
work should defy the machine by varying 
the detail in his design,, carefully observing 
that such change and variety does not de- 
stroy the sense of repose or make the work 
in any way assertive. Handwork to-day 
has a tendency, in all departments of 
human labour, to be superseded by 
machinery ; and while machinery has not 
sufficient self-restraint for the production 
of works of art, it is all-powerful for their 
suppression. 

The embroideress of the early days was 
doubtless the designer of her work as w^ell. 
She had no portfolio of designs to draw upon, 
but diligently studied the book of nature for 
her material. Not being hampered by whims 
and fashions as in the present day, her taste 
was original and pure, t/wconsciously prin- 
ciples of order, balance, and construction 
were followed. The first thing we of to-day 
have to do is to learn to see and appreciate 
the beauties of nature, get a sound know- 
ledge of plants and flowers, and by degrees 



1 o Embroidery. 

we shall begin to see the beauties of art. 
Our taste has to some extent been handi- 
capped by our association with badly de- 
signed patterns, furniture, etc., and it is 
difficult to avoid being brought into contact 
with these things in our daily journey ings. 

Comparatively few modern embroideresses 
design their own patterns. They are fre- 
quently obliged to select a design that has 
little interest for themselves, and conse- 
quently they fail to produce work that 
interests others. There is no denying the fact 
that some knowledge and practice of the 
principles of design are needed in order to 
ensure success in the work. The embroideress 
ought, at least, to make herself acquainted 
with the common-sense conditions which 
govern the making of good ornament in order 
to be better able to render by the needle the 
ideas of the person who prepared the pattern. 
It is not a very great and serious undertak- 
ing ; the worker is merely asked to learn a few 
elementary principles. She may be scared if 
she is asked to make a design. But possibly 
after a little intelligent study in the direction 
indicated, even the making of a design will 
be found comparatively easy. 

The advantage offered by our museums 



Design as applied to Embroidery. 1 1 

of being able to examine old specimens of 
embroidery is not sufficiently appreciated 
by the modern needleworker. From these 
masterpieces we can learn all that is required 
to make good, sound design. Moreover, we 
can also see what to avoid, and the student 
is warned against blindly copying em- 
broidery merely because it is old. There is 
another danger, and that is of collecting 
fragments of ornament from all periods and 
trying to stick them together into one 
scheme. This practice is obviously bad. 
There is no reason why an ancient pattern 
should not be adapted to modern require- 
ments ; it is the mixing of material that is 
to be condemned. The adapting of a beau- 
tiful piece of decoration may prove a more 
compensating occupation than to spend 
time in making new ornament which might 
be only of moderate merit. 

The ideal condition in the production of 
artistic handicrafts is that each article 
should be conceived and carried out by the 
same person. Embroidery is a very per- 
sonal art, its charm lies in the individuality 
expressed by the worker ; and to get design 
or adaptation, colour scheme and em- 
broidery from the same hand and brain 



1 2 Embroidery, 

ensures a certain unity, whatever the grade 
of excellence may be. Furthermore, there 
is evidence of the application of the mind to 
the material, an expression of the worker's 
interest and intelligence. Embroidery offers 
endless scope and freedom to every degree 
of imagination. Unfortunately, the purest 
fancies often die unexpressed for want of the 
right kind of help and appreciation, while 
the strongest are allowed to ran wild for 
want of proper guidance and control. 

The first thing necessary to be taught is 
to see. The late William Morris said, 
" There are two things to be done by the 
seers for the non-seers : the first is to show 
them what is to be seen on the earth ; the 
next is to give them opportunities for pro- 
ducing matters, the sight of which will please 
themselves and their neighbours, and the 
people that come after them — to train 
them, in short, in the observation of beauty 
and incident." The sooner the worker can 
be made to see how wrong it is to try to 
imitate the natural appearances of fiowers 
and plants in embroidery, the better. The 
height of the ambition of many needle- 
workers is reached when they are able to 
render pictorial representations of flowers, 



Design as applied to Embroidery. 13 

by forcing the light and shade in such a 
manner as to make the flower resemble a 
natural one resting on the surface of the 
material. Such work does very little more 
than betray a desire to show off dexterity 
and ingenuity which may have been ac- 
quired at the expense of everything else. 
Vulgarity and bad taste in this form exist 
among all classes ; it is favoured by the so- 
called educated, where one would least 
expect to find it. 

There is a natural convention which ap- 
pears to be part of the process of adapting 
flower forms to embroidery. The worker 
should aim at simplicity in representing 
plant form. There is no necessity to sacriflce 
any of the beauty of the natural object. If 
she will be content with a hint from nature 
rather than a photographic fact, she will 
possibly be able to invest her work with a 
little of the spontaneous simplicity and free- 
dom of the earlier work. 

Let us commence with the intention of 
beautifying what is already useful. To 
decorate or ornament an object is to enrich 
the surface with forms and colour, and thus 
to give the thing decorated a new beauty 
while adhering strictly to its original shape 



T 4 Embroidery. 

and character. The ornament, if it is the 
right kind, and properly apphed, will not in 
any way deprive the object of its expression 
of use and comfort. 

We may divide ornament as applied to 
embroidery into three classes : (i) That 
expressed simply in outline, as in stem stitch, 
chain stitch, rope stitch, coral stitch, cable 
stitch, and in cords. (2) That expressed in 
fiat tones, as in laid work, satin stitch, cushion 
stitch, cross stitch ; darning, as in " lacis 
work " ; also patchwork or applique. (3) 
That expressed by shading, breaking up the 
surface and suggesting relief, as in ordinary 
embroidery stitch, or long-and-short stitch. 
The last-named method of work is the most 
popular ; while giving every facility for 
good work, it offers equal facility for bad. 

It has been said we look for colour in mass 
rather than for line work in embroidery. 
Colour and texture undoubtedly are charm- 
ing qualities in needlework, but too few 
people really appreciate the use of line 
work pure and simple. Spirited and beau- 
tiful results have been obtained by the em- 
ployment of delicate line work, or with bold, 
confident lining in conjunction with line 
fillings, as shown in the example on Plates 



Design as applied to Embroidery, 15 

No. 27 and 29. The four screen panels and 
the portion of a frieze from designs by Walter 
Crane (Plates No. 24 and 26) are also worked 
entirely in outline ; a slight tone is produced 
in the arcading in the frieze by open darning. 

In the sixteenth-century Spanish border, 
reproduced on Plate No. g, the combination 
of classes (i) and (2), tone and line, is shown ; 
the masses of colour are effected by coloured 
satins, applied, and these are nicely connected 
with cord. In this example the cord plays 
a very important part, and it could have 
been more effective if it had been made to 
run in double lines in joining up the main 
pieces of ornament ; however, the result of 
the whole is extremely good. This character 
of work would be perfectly in its place on 
mantelpiece borders, curtain borders, bed- 
spreads, and for church work, etc. 

The panel (Plate No. 41), " Pomona," by 
the late Sir Edward Burne-Jones, and back- 
ground ornament by the late William Morris, 
is an example of the third class of work. 
The drapery of the figure and the small 
fiow^ers are in embroidery or long-and-short 
stitch, and the big leaves in laid work with 
gradual blends of colour. 

For other illustrations of solid shaded 



1 6 Embr'oidery. 

embroidery the reader is referred to Plates 
No. 40, 42, 43, 44 and 45, back of a chasuble, 
corner of a chalice veil, and the specimens of 
crewel work. These will serve to show that 
the range of choice in treatment is very 
extensive in this class of needlework. The 
worker is warned in shading not to suggest so 
much relief as to lose the sense of flatness on 
a characteristically flat surface ; it should be 
quite clear that such methods, to any one 
who stops to think, are wrong. It is a poor 
sort of deception at best, and very bad art, 
to try by means of laborious shading in 
silk or wools to produce an appearance of 
relief in needlework. 

The reader cannot do better than look at 
the Chinese and Japanese needlework for 
good flat treatment of plant forms. They 
are supreme in the way which they produce 
their effects in embroidery, often with one 
or two shades, purely through their skill in 
placing the stitches. Constantly changing 
the direction, they work for a pleasant play 
of light and shade, acquired by the different 
placing of the silk. If they shade, it is with 
the definite intention of showing where one 
shade ends and the other begins. They are 
very fond of voiding — that is, leaving the 



Design as applied to Embroidery, i 7 

ground to show between the petals of the 
flowers and leaves in a manner which is 
rather similar to the use of ties in stencilling. 
It is probably because of their love for the 
stencil, and their skill in its manipulation, 
that this method has crept into their em- 
broidery (see Plate No. 67). 

To flowers, plants, and fruits we are more 
indebted for material and suggestions in 
design than any other source in the whole 
of nature's category. The best conven- 
tional and aesthetic ornament, the Persian 
aster, the Egyptian sunflower (the lotus), 
the Greek honeysuckle or anthemion, are 
full of vitality, fulfilling as ornament their 
various places and uses, while combining the 
main and best qualities of plant-growth, 
embodied with vigorous life and beauty. 
The old designers pillaged the gardens and 
vineyards, and, with the plunder of pome- 
granates, apples, vines, lemons, and olives, 
the forms of which they simplified with 
right perception of what detail must be 
kept and what can be left out, they intro- 
duced them into their designs. 

Every embroideress should be able to 
draw, and though the process of acquiring 
the power of drawing is slow and tedious to 



1 8 Embroideiy, 

many, the student is well repaid for the time 
and trouble bestowed in the practice of this 
branch of her work, as no embroidery can be 
perfectly satisfactory without good drawing. 
In order to become a proficient designer 
it will be necessary to make careful studies 
from nature of flowers, buds, leaves, etc. 
Learn the characteristics of the plant first : 
the joints of leaves and flowers are of vital 
importance — note the way they spring 
from the stem ; and draw carefully the 
calyx of the flower, and the buds in their 
various stages of opening. There are in- 
stances where the embroideress — who con- 
fesses that she is quite ignorant of design 
and the construction of pattern, and that 
she has never studied plant form — has 
been afraid to add a stem and connect the 
leaves which had been omitted by the 
transferer,* and the most stupid mistakes 

* The transferer is very often one employed to put 
the designs on the material, not the designer ; the 
embroideress merely embroiders what is marked on 
the stuff, when she has had nothing to do with the 
transferring ; and just as a school-child forgets its copy, 
and every line becomes a caricature of its predecessor, 
so the poor design gets knocked out of shape by the 
number of hands it goes through, the number of times 
it is used, that the spirit has quite left it by the time 
the work is finished. 



Design as applied to Embroidery. 19 

occur, which could, with a few hours' study, 
be prevented. At the same time the em- 
broideress would take infinitely more 
pleasure in her work if she would take a 
common-sense view of the subject. 

After learning the plant and its possi- 
bilities as a motif of design, commence 
the planning of the work by selecting the 
positions for the chief features in the de- 
signs, where the masses shall be placed, 
and see that they are nicely distributed 
over the surface you have to cover. In a 
panel that is not to be used in association 
with other panels — in other words, if it is 
complete in itself — the design should be 
complete in the space it has to fill, and 
not look like a piece of ornament that might 
go on for yards indefinitely. The masses 
should be connected by harmonious lines ; 
insist on simple, straight forw^ard growth, 
always bearing in mind the principle of ex- 
haustion — the vigour with which your plant 
grows from the root, each branch throwing 
off smaller ones the further it goes. Never 
have large stems and branches coming from 
smaller ones. 

The detail is the next to consider. If an 
altar-frontal or any work to be placed at a 



20 Embroidery. 

distance, the treatment will be broad and 
simple ; if a table cover, book cover, hem 
of a garment, or anything to be viewed 
closely, the details must be treated with 
greater delicacy. The rendering of the 
plant must always be truthful to nature's 
principle. The flowers may be turned about 
to get as much variety and interest out of 
them as possible, although the masses may 
be repeated. In designing for embroidery 
when repetition is demanded, change of 
colour and detail should be made, pro- 
vided it does not destroy the sense of re- 
pose. Recurrence in art expresses repose, 
and is frequently required, as in a border 
framing a panel or a curtain. Very few 
workers appear to realise the added sense of 
completeness given by a border, even though 
it may be only a few nicely spaced lines. 
Usually the simpler the border the more 
effective. Always remember it is the framing 
of your work, so let it be subordinate. 

Simplicity in ornament is perhaps the 
very last thing even the educated appre- 
ciate ; as a rule the most florid and com- 
plicated patterns please best. It is a good 
plan for the designer to put a piece of 
tracing-paper over the drawing, if it is 



Design as applied to Embroidery. 2 i 

becoming at all crowded or overloaded 
with detail, trace the best parts only, and 
see how much of the pattern can be dis- 
pensed with. The highest art is that which 
is simplest ; the power of restraint, to know 
the value of a space, are most desirable 
qualities. Always remember that it is 
better to put too little ornament than too 
much. 

These hints and suggestions on design 
as applied to embroidery are merely intended 
to assist those who have had no practice 
in this branch of the subject; and more 
especially to stimulate those who take 
up embroidery as a useful accomplishment, 
in the hope that they may try to make 
designs for their own needlework. 



(22) 



CHAPTER II. 

UTILITY— METHOD AND MATERIAL. 

Early decoration in many cases was actually 
adopted to increase the usefulness of the 
object ; the savage, by the notching of his 
paddle, not only ornamented it but ensured 
a firmer grip as well ; also, by the roughening 
of the sword-hilt with a relief pattern, the 
same result is obtained. We should seize 
upon points of construction and heighten 
their interest by suitable decoration. The 
ornament must not be an encumbrance to 
the object it is supposed to adorn. For 
example, a design in raised bullion on a 
cushion is essentially out of place ; one 
could not rest against it with any degree of 
comfort. The aim of the embroideress 
should be to make a decoration that does 
not in any way take away from the useful- 
ness of the cushion. 

A good example of utility in decoration is 
the use of the herring-bone stitch, by which 



Utility — Method and Mateiaal. 23 

over an ugly seam the adding of this stitch 
renders the junction of the two edges of cloth 
more secure and less unsightly. The use of 
the buttonhole stitch likewise serves a 
practical and an ornamental purpose as 
well. Fringes arose out of the ravelling of 
the edge of fabrics. At first the frayed 
ends were tied into bunches, and by degrees 
these regular tyings became elaborated 
into handsome patterns, and now these 
fringes are considered indispensable as decora- 
tion. They are very useful in finishing an 
edge. The worker can either fray the edge 
of the material and knot the ends, or make 
the fringe separately and attach it to the 
material. The first duty of quilting is to 
keep the padding in its place ; and the 
simplest, and perhaps the most serviceable 
pattern is the one employed on the subject 
which forms the frontispiece to this book. 
Many beautiful quilted patterns are to be 
seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum. 

The ornamenting of book covers by clasps 
and corner plates was done to strengthen and 
protect them. They are now successfully 
used purely as ornaments suggested in the 
tooling of leather, and in embroidered book 
covers. 



24 Embroidery. 

When we speak of applied ornament, it 
is often misunderstood, for this reason : it 
suggests to some people that one person 
makes it, and another sticks it on, and, to 
some extent, that is what happens in the 
production of much of the modern em- 
broidery. Unfortunately, a great deal of 
it gets stuck on in the wrong place. There 
are many examples of mis-applied ornament. 
Our "best" pillow cases and table cloths, 
intended to be used on high-days and 
holidays, are all, at least, serviceable ; they 
are not of the drawing-room class of needle- 
work, which is considered too good to use ; 
made only to show, and then to fold up and 
put away. The fact is, most of this work 
is so ornamented that it is quite impossible 
to use. One thing we do know, it cost a lot, 
and that is why it is prized. 

Salesmen are occasionally heard to ad- 
vance this argument as a reason for the high 
price of some over-decorated article he is 
trying to sell : that, on account of the diffi- 
culties which arose in producing it, they are 
compelled to ask such an unusual price 
for the article. In many cases the diffi- 
culties referred to, are caused by the maker 
trying to imitate some other material, and 



Utility — Method and Material. 25 

frequently something not suitable for the 
functions of the article. We must always 
bear in mind it is the material, so to speak, 
which gives us the lead in decoration, and 
it is only right for us to follow that lead. 

Applique. 

Counterchange ornament is often used 
in applique work. For this purpose the 
design must be so constructed that both the 
device and the ground are identical in shape 
and area (see figs. 44 and 46, Plate No. 66). 
An economical and effective method of ap- 
plique decoration is that illustrated on Plate 
No. 10. The pattern is designed so that the 
material ornament taken from the panel on 
the left-hand side of the plate is used to form 
the dark pattern in the panel on the right- 
hand side. The pattern in one appears a 
little smaller than in the other. This has 
been caused partly by the corded outline 
being in both cases light in colour. 

For applique of almost all kinds it is well 
to back the material, which is done in the 
following manner : 

Stretch tightly on a board, with tacks * or 

* Those that have been tinned are best ; other kinds 
mark the material. 



2 6 Einbroidery. 

drawing-pins, a piece of thin cotton or linen 
fabric. Paste this all over with a thin layer 
of paste (Higgins's paste can be used with 
the very best results) smoothly and com- 
pletely ; put the velvet, satin, serge, linen, 
or whatever is to be used in the work, 
wrong side down, press firmly, and see that 
no air bubbles or lumps remain ; and leave 
it to dry thoroughly, over night if possible. 
Then, on the wrong (linen) side, draw the 
design, and cut out carefully the parts to be 
applied, with short, sharp scissors ; if cut 
from the backing, a sharper and cleaner edge 
is ensured. 

On the foundation material, which has 
been previously stretched in a frame, mark 
the whole design, indicating where the cut- 
out pieces must go and any parts that have 
to be embroidered. Pin the applique pieces 
into their places and then paste again, and 
leave until dry. These pieces should be 
securely tacked into their positions before 
the embroidery is actually commenced. 

There are a variety of ways of treating 
applique. It must first be stitched to the 
ground with small stitches taken from the 
ground into the applique at right angles 
to the edge. Then, a couching of silk is 



Utility — Method and Material. 27 

often necessary to cover the edges before the 
cord is sewn down. Another method is 
that in which the edge has either a strand 
of silk or very narrow ribbon couched down 
instead of the cord ; or, again, the edges can 
be worked over in satin stitch, or button- 
hole stitch with a strand of silk under. 
Admirable effects are obtained by the use 
of satin stitch or buttonhole stitch to bind 
the edges. 

If the work is to be strained for framed 
panels, etc., a piece of holland pasted over 
the back is a good preservative ; it holds it 
all together in a firm manner. For curtains, 
or anything where softness in hanging is re- 
quired, this backing is not desirable. When 
the applique is worked in the hand, the 
greatest care is needed in order to keep it 
quite flat.* 

In applique patterns keep to simple forms, 
or rather avoid elaborate serrated leaves and 

* With reference to the contention as to the rival 
merits of frame versus hand work. As a general rule 
amateurs much prefer to do their embroidery out of 
the frame, being much easier for them to handle, 
whilst professionals put almost all work into a frame. 
A variety of fancy stitches, oriental, darning, chain, 
buttonholing, etc., cannot be conveniently done in a 
frame ; while at the same time for laid work, etc., a 
frame is absolutely essential. 



2 8 Embroidery. 

thin ornament. There is no reason why thin 
stems, centres of flowers, etc., should not be 
worked in silk stitching in conjunction with 
the applied work. 

Applique is eminently suitable for posi- 
tions where broad effects are wanted, and 
where fine work cannot be properly seen or 
is too good for rough usage. A beautiful 
example of interchange pattern is illustrated 
on Plate No. ii, and other good types of 
applique work are shown on Plates No. 7, 8, 
9 and 10. 

Inlaid Work. 

The Persians use inlay more often than 
actual applique. Sir R. Murdock Smith, in 
his South Kensington Handbook on Persian 
Art, says, " A peculiar kind of embroidery 
and patch-work combined is largely made at 
Resht (see Plate No. 13), and to some extent 
in Ispahan, at the present day. It consists 
of patchwork of minute pieces of broad-cloth 
of different colours, the seams and some 
other portions of which are then covered 
with needlework also variously coloured, the 
whole forming a combination of geometric 
and floral ornament. The colours being of 
the brightest, the general effect is, perhaps, 



Utility — Method and Material, 29 

somewhat gaudy. These " Gul-Duzi-i- 
Resht," as they are called, are mostly used 
by the Persians for saddle-cloths and showy 
horse-clothing, for which they are not in- 
appropriate. They also serve for Sarandaz 
and Kenarch covers, and nowadays for 
tables, sofa, and chair covers, where inter- 
course with Europeans has introduced such 
articles of furniture." 

The effects produced by the applique and 
inlay methods are very similar. In inlay the 
applied material is laid into the foundation 
stuff, which is cut away to receive the pieces 
of coloured material used to make the pattern. 
The stuffs are fitted together — the pattern 
into the foundation — and made secure by 
an overcast stitch round the edge of each 
form ; this edge is then finished by chain 
stitch, or a cord or strands of silk couched — 
in fact, by any similar outlines to those em- 
ployed in applique work. It is usual, first, 
to stretch a piece of holland in an em- 
broidery frame to serve as a temporary 
backing. Then the materials are cut — 
closely textured materials are necessary for 
this process, a loosely woven stuff is liable 
to fray — and tacked in positon on the hol- 
land ; then the overcasting of the edge com- 



30 Embi'oidery. 

menced. The backing should be removed 
when the work is finished, or it can be al- 
lowed to remain, if needed, for strengthening 
the work. 

Thin ornamental forms are not suitable 
for inlay ; stems and connecting lines must 
be embroidered. In the Resht example re- 
ferred to, the light lines are rendered by 
rows of chain stitch. 



White Work. 

For articles appertaining to dress, white 
embroidery is especially suitable. Most 
beautiful pieces of dress decoration in white 
work are to be seen in the Victoria and 
Albert Museum. The detail from a muslin 
collar shown on Plate No. 49 will give the 
reader some idea of the scope of treatment 
in this branch of work. The little piercings 
are immensely valuable in lightening the 
effect ; and the varying tones suggested by 
the method of stitching give great interest 
and delicacy. Parts are slightly padded, 
and the fiat tone, in the banded form 
which connects the groups, is obtained 
by the use of French knots, placed close 
together. 



Utility — Method and Material. 31 

In a half-hearted way white embroidery 
has always been brought into service for 
marking linen. Occasionally one sees a 
nicely worked monogram on the corner of 
a pocket handkerchief, but generally the 
lettering is poor in form. There is a great 
field open for good lettering, not only in 
white work, but in all branches of embroidery. 
For white work the ordinary stitches are 
employed. Much of it is executed in the 
hand, and the material to be marked is 
often tacked on American cloth, or toile 
ciree, during the process of working. A 
tambour frame is sometimes utilised for the 
purpose. From Persia we get some geo- 
metrical designs worked in white on a white 
ground of cambric. This kind of work at 
the present day is often effectively used to 
decorate the edges and network visieres of 
ladies' veils. In most cases there is no 
reverse side to the work ; both sides are 
exactly the same.* It is said that the 

* In Exodus we read that Aholiab, the chief em- 
broiderer, is specially appointed to assist in the decora- 
tion of the tabernacle. In celebrating the triumph of 
Sisera, his mother is made to say that he has a " prey 
of divers colours of needlework on both sides," evidently 
meaning that the stuff was wrought on both sides alike, 
a style of embroidery exhibiting a degree of patience 
and skill only practised by the nations of the East. 



2 Embroidery . 



embroidery of this kind is executed by 
two persons, one on either side of the 
material working simultaneously with one 
needle. 

The use of crewels is rather scoffed at, 
for the simple reason there are not many 
people at the present time who can handle 
them properly ; for furniture coverings and 
curtains they could be used with greater 
advantage. The use of a poorer material 
on a richer one appears to be wrong. We 
do not feel inclined to use wools on silk, but 
do not hesitate to use silks on linen. Let us 
never forget that we are enriching a material 
when we embroider. 



Laid Work. 

" Laid work " is a much more economical 
method of producing an effect than by work- 
ing the design in satin stitch. In laid work 
all the silk is on the surface of the material, 
as the term implies, while satin stitch is 
taken under and over, and there is as much 
on one side as the other ; but a richer effect 
is got from the silk worked in satin stitch, 
as the run of the silk is in one direction, and 
it thus gives a brighter appearance. 



Utility — Method and Material, '^'^t^ 

Gold Embroidery. 

The material on which gold embroidery 
is to be worked should be herring-boned very 
evenly and firmly on to a backing of linen 
(never cotton), and stretched in an em- 
broidery frame. Sometimes the gold em- 
broidery is worked on a strong linen, cut out 
and applied in the same way you do applique. 
For stitches, see Plates No. 68, 69, 70 
and 71. Great care is required to prevent 
gold and silver threads from turning a bad 
colour. When applying these metals do 
not handle the threads more than can be 
helped. Cover the work as far as possible 
with unbleached backing as each piece is 
completed, and take every precaution to 
protect it from damp. Much of the gold 
and silver work is lacquered directly it 
is finished. Silico varnish painted on thinly 
preserves the colour of the metal. 

Raised Work. 

The highly padded work, and particularly 
the raised figures, are very unsatisfactory, 
but for ecclesiastical work, hangings, 
heraldry, etc., in bullion and silk, the 
padding of severely drawn flowers and 



34 Embroidery. 

ornaments are very effective and highly 
appropriate. 

For raised gold work, yellow soft cotton is 
used for the padding, grey and white for 
silver work, and strings and linen threads for 
both metals. See Plates No. 68, 69, 70 
and 71. 

" In the early work they had no resource 
for obtaining effects which might be con- 
sidered to be foreign to straightforward and 
hond-fide needlework. Later, in the fifteenth 
century, relief effects were then attempted 
and obtained in much of the gold thread 
work, and an early indication of the depar- 
ture from flat simplicity of earlier work is 
given in the modelled feather of the fifteenth 
century of angels' wings. The modelling or 
padding out of needlework is more pro- 
nounced in the early sixteenth-century 
architectural work, and carried still further 
in coats-of-arms of the seventeenth-century 
pouches." * 

Old Embroideries 

are frequently cut out and transferred 
to new grounds, and then treated like 
applique. The best method to finish the 

* Alan S. Cole, C.B., " Ornament in European Silks." 



Utility — Method mtd Material, 



OD 



edges is to work in silk carefully matched in 
colour to the old embroidery ; sometimes 
cords or hanks of silks couched are used 
for finishing the edges. These methods are 
less expensive but not satisfactory. It is 
easy to perceive by this treatment that the 
work has been transferred, which is not 
desirable. 

Cords, gimps, braids, hanks of floss silk 
were used in the sixteeenth century, and 
spangles, beetle-wings, tinsel, and jewels 
in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. 
Many admirable results can thus be accom- 
plished, but one must, however, be very 
careful and discreet in handling the four 
last-named embellishments. 



(3^) 



CHAPTER III. 

ADAPTATION— SYMBOLISM. 

** The actual systems of building pattern, 
of pattern forms, methods of drawing and 
modelling figures, and various handicrafts 
have been discovered long ago, but it is in 
their re-combination and adaptation — our 
interpretation and use of them — and in the 
power of variation and expression, that 
modern invention and predilection tell." * 
The embroideress is continually being 
called upon to adapt or modify the designs 
she embroiders. And when the study of 
design has not been neglected, for it must 
form part of the education of the earnest 
worker — she will find plenty of scope for her 
individuality and taste, in planning and 
adapting design ; and she may also find that 
the faculty of invention is there, that it 
was only dormant, and needed some such 
stimulus to awaken and develop it. 

* Walter Crane, "Bases of Design," p. 211. 



Adaptation. 37 

Natural forms must be conventionalised 
in order to make them suitable for the pur- 
pose of embroidery. If we take plants, 
flowers, and fruits, and throw life-like repre- 
sentations of them on a surface, and then 
call it decoration, we make this decoration 
exactly like the natural object, or as much 
like it as we can ; we are obviously working 
in the wrong direction, practising the art of 
deception and sacrificing our ability as 
needleworkers on work that can at its best 
be but tasteless and vulgar. Natural forms 
must be adapted to the materials used. For 
example, a briar rose is beautiful in form 
and colour in the garden, and if handled by 
a skilful designer is quite beautiful when 
simplified and adapted to a flat surface for 
embroidery. Moreover, this modification of 
the plant is, in a measure, demanded by the 
nature of the materials and method of pro- 
duction. In every way needlework should 
be adapted to the materials. Photographic 
imitations in form and colour of flowers 
by the needle must be abandoned, and 
only those aspects of the plant that are 
capable of being easily and intelligently 
represented be attempted. 

The observant student will see that plants 



3 8 Embroidery. 

illustrate most of the guiding principles 
which are laid down in ornamental design. 
If we go to the standard examples of art, we 
can satisfy ourselves that the principles ob- 
served in nature are usually followed in the 
examples we are studying ; when there is 
any departure from those principles, we 
must do our best to find the reason for it. 

Principles are the consideration of things 
which underlie the laws or rules. Some of 
the rules in ornamental design might be com- 
pared to the buoys round shoaly coasts, 
which may be overlooked when the mariner 
has learned to sound for himself. 

The circumstances under which works of 
art are created must be considered, the 
practical needs and natural surroundings of 
their existence. In the East they crave for 
magnificent colour, while we appreciate 
colour in a more sober sense, not demanding 
that brilliancy which the Orientals distin- 
guish and insist on, intensified and glorified 
with the rainbow hues of life. 

We observe by studying works of art how 
differently we are endowed with the sense 
of colour, how variously the gifts are dis- 
tributed, or, we may say, how we differ in 
the handling of the gifts. Even the members 



Adaptation. 39 

of our own family are frequently at variance 
in their likes and dislikes ; the difference of 
temper and perception has a great deal to 
do with one's sense of form and colour. 

Colour in embroidery is a matter of very 
great importance. It may spoil a good, 
well-formed design. A mere copy of the 
colour in the natural object is not required. 
The colour in nature must be taken as a 
suggestive guide, and modified or intensified, 
as the case may be, according to, and in 
harmony with, the general surroundings. 

Beautiful work can be done in one key of 
colour — as several shades of blue, or shades 
of golden brown. Great care is needed in 
arranging contrasting colours to ensure har- 
mony. Colour, like taste, is instinctive with 
some, while others must be educated to 
appreciate that which is accepted as beauti- 
ful and harmonious. We all know that 
certain forms and colours give us more 
pleasure than others. 

Symbolism. 

Almost all art in the early days expressed 
religious thoughts by means of symbols. 



40 * Embroidei'y. 

To communicate ideas by emblematical 
signs in this way has been the desire of man 
from the earliest times. It is a more con- 
crete method of expression than that which 
can be conveyed by the picturing of real- 
istic figures and scenes. Symbols were 
frequently introduced into tapestries and 
embroideries containing sacred figures, and 
the embroideress will find the study of 
Christian symbolism a very great help to her 
in her work. As a rule these signs and at- 
tributes are very simple and severe in form. 
The jyljot shown on Plate No. i is believed to 
be the oldest Aryan symbol. It originally 
signified their supreme god when used by 
them as a cross ; the lateral flanges added 
to the ends of the cross gave it the optical 
indication of revolving, which is supposed 
to indicate the axial volution of the heavens 
round the Pole Star ; later it was used as a 
benedictory sign or mark of good luck. It 
became a common emblem in all countries, 
for not only is it seen on the relics of the 
early races of mankind, but in Scandinavian, 
Celtic, and Anglo-Saxon work, on Roman 
altars and in our cathedrals. 

The Egyptians used the zigzag to signify 
water. Many patterns are constructed upon 



Plate No. I. 





EGYPTl(\Nf LOTUS IN W^TE^f^ 



+ 



CX°iS PoTCNT 



t-H 



Cf^^SS PoTE^NT. 



CALVAKV 





rt 



FYufT. Olio called rtz 

ra-*K;ia Fabric b fo^t c>.l ^, 




G|X!X< r^rt. 



Jl; 



MAlte.se. ck^ss _r 



Cl?c5S PA.TeE. J^l^tQUENTLV 

CNFouhjpfp; With r>^z 





L'^TIN TYPE tMPloytp 
iTv- The. iO\^tK sTtr |v,cn^(^lTy 

m Mlfpj.E STEP IS r-iopE. 
UPftl^ STEP IS FMTn 



Cl^'-iS ft'ToNEt 



CR»^s TomME'E: 



yt^ ^ ^ + + 



C'^''^■S MaiNE. 



Symbolism, 43 

zigzag lines in Polynesian ornament, and it 
is believed that it was thus used to interpret 
another meaning. In later times, as an 
ornament, it occupied a prominent place in 
Scandinavian decoration and in Romanesque 
architecture. On Plate No. i it is given 
in combination with the lotus. The lotus, 
symbolising new birth and resurrection, was 
also sacred as the type of coming plenty, as 
it appeared previous to the springing of the 
crops, and directly after the subsidence of 
the Nile. As a forerunner of their harvest, 
there was every reason for them to worship 
it. Perhaps next to the lotus in importance 
is the palm surrounded by the sacred hom, 
called the " tree of life." It was the date 
palm from which inebriating drink was first 
made by the Aryans. It is found in Baby- 
lonian, Persian, Indian, Greek, and Roman 
art. Its conventional form was changed as 
other plants, by fermentation, came to the 
front, containing what appeared to be the 
" spirit of life." The sacred hom or holy 
tree is believed to represent the tree of life 
spoken of as growing in Paradise. 

The winged globe, so frequently used in 
Egyptian art, is symbolical of the sun, and 
the outspreading wings the overshadowing 



44 B7n broidery. 

of Providence. Ancient Egyptian art was 
a symbolic language. The numerous em- 
blems they used were, in themselves, perfect 
specimens of severe and beautiful design. 

Our museums and cathedrals contain 
many examples of ecclesiastical needlework 
in which the expression of religious thought 
is revealed by symbols, and it is the duty of 
the modern embroideress to become ac- 
quainted with these masterpieces, especially 
if she is called upon to undertake church 
work. Not that she is advised merely to re- 
produce the designs, as they are not suited 
to modern requirements. The same prin- 
ciples can, however, be applied ; the chas- 
tened reserve, and those laws of fitness and 
limitations observed which make the design 
suitable for the highest purposes to which 
such embroideries can be devoted. 

In Christian art the cross as a symbol of 
Christ is acknowledged to be equal in im- 
portance to His other symbol, the lamb, or 
the symbol of the Holy Ghost, the dove. In 
representations of the Trinity, where God 
the Father is depicted as a man and the Holy 
Spirit as a dove, Christ is at times imaged 
by the Cross alone. 

The Latin cross represents the actual 



Symbolism. 45 

cross on which our Saviour suffered ; and in 
its simple, unadorned shape is usually called 
the Calvary Cross.* The Greeks rather de- 
parted from the original cross, and made it 
more suitable in shape for ornamental pur- 
poses. When the Latin type was employed 
as the emblem of Christianity, it was 
frequently shown placed on three steps. 
The lowest step, which rests firmly upon the 
earth, and which will be seen is the largest, 
is Charity, the greatest of all Christian vir- 
tues ; the middle step is Hope ; and the 
upper is Faith, in which the cross is firmly 
embedded. 

The forms which the cross assumes are 
almost countless. Although nearly all based 
on the Greek and Latin types, the cross of 
St. Anthony in heraldry is termed the cross 
potent ; we also get the Maltese cross, the 
cross patee, the cross botonee, the cross 
pommee, the cross moline, the cross fleurie, 
the oross patonce, the cross potent rebated, 
and the cross crosslet. 

The cross is the acknowledged mark or 
sign of the Christian faith throughout the 
world. In Christian art the image of the 
lamb, the symbol of our Saviour, the Good 

* See Plate No. i for illustrations of crosses. 



46 Embroidery, 

Shepherd, is frequently represented ; and 
there are various passages both in the Old 
and New Testament which refer to Christ 
under the image of the Lamb. 

We find abundant symbolism in the 
various emblems and attributes of the 
apostles, saints, and martyrs. The mystic 
symbols of the four Evangelists, held in 
great favour and respect by the designer 
for ecclesiastical work, are the four winged 
creatures — viz. the winged man for St. 
Matthew, the winged lion for St. Mark, the 
winged ox for St. Luke, and the eagle for 
St. John. St. Mark is supposed to have 
been buried in the great church in Venice 
dedicated to his name, and the winged lion 
has become the distinguishing badge of that 
city. 

In the Catacombs we find the Holy Sacra- 
ment of Baptism symbolically represented. 
The most frequent symbol is a fish, often 
portrayed on the tombs of departed Chris- 
tians. Sometimes three fishes are repre- 
sented, entwined in a triangular fashion, 
symbolising the Divine Trinity. On Plate 
No. 2 the emblem of the Holy Trinity in 
three different forms is given. Also on the 
same plate a number of monograms are 



Plate No. 2. 




SYMBOL 

OF THE HOLY I GHObf 



SACRED MONOGRAM 

FROM WINCH tSTER TAPE5)TKY 




« 



EXPRESSING XRl^TOS 

THE NAME OF NO^Tf.l^ 

CNRIbT IN THE 
Circle OF ETERNITy jf)USCHKii 






THREE FlbHES 
OUI^ LORD 3VMR,0LIZING f^APTISM 



EMPaem of trinity 




EMBLEM OF TRINITY THE. 
THPvFE ETERNAL BEINGS (N UNITY 



Symbolism. 49 

shown, which were devised by early Chris- 
tian artists to express the sacred names of 
our Saviour. 

In the ninth century symbohcal render- 
ings of griffins, unicorns, hons, eagles, and 
elephants appeared plentifully on chasubles 
and copes. There is in the Victoria and 
Albert Museum a remarkable chasuble of 
blue satin, on the front of which are em- 
broidered in gold threads and coloured silks 
a number of lions and griffins enclosed by 
scroll work. It is said to be thirteenth-cen- 
tury English work. On the back is a broad 
orphrey containing four quatrefoil panels : 
in these are the Crucifixion of our Lord, the 
Virgin and Child, St. Peter and St. Paul, 
and the Stoning of St. Stephen. This is 
the earliest example of English needlework 
in the collection in which animals are re- 
presented. 

In Babylonian embroideries we are told 
that very fine materials were symbolical, and 
stood for the elements of the world — fine 
flax for the earth, purple for the sea, scarlet 
for the blaze of fire, and blue for the firma- 
mental azure. 

The following are the meanings attached 
to the chief colours found in Christian art : 



50 Emh^oidery . 

White is the emblem of purity, innocence, 
faith, joy, hfe, and hght. 

Red is emblematical of the passion of our 
Lord, the sufferings and the martyrdom of 
His Saints. 

Blue is emblematical of heaven. It sig- 
nifies piety, sincerity, godliness, and divine 
contemplation. 

Yellow or gold signifies brightness and 
goodness of God, faith and fruitfulness. 

Green is used by the Church on ordinary 
Sundays and ferials (week-days). It 
signifies bountifulness, hope, mirth, youth, 
and prosperity. 

Violet signifies passion, suffering, sorrow, 
humility, deep love, and truth. Martyrs are 
frequently clad in violet or purple garments. 

Black is symbolical of death, darkness, 
despair, and mourning. 

White, red, green, violet, and black are 
called canonical colours. 

Much has been written on the symbolism 
of plants and flowers, and many workers 
know their various attributes. The lily is 
the acknowledged sign of purity, the honey- 
suckle of enduring faith, the olive branch of 
reconciliation and peace, the oak of strength, 
and the palm, as the symbol of martyrdom, 



Symbolism. 5 1 

belongs to all those saints who suffered death 
in the cause of Christ. The pomegranate, 
burst open and displaying its seeds, was 
accepted in early times as the emblem of 
future life and of hope in immortality. The 
apple is an emblem of the original sin as it 
alludes to the fall of man. The vine with 
the Greeks was sacred to Dionysos, and 
represented to them the divine, life-giving 
earth-spirit continually renewing itself and 
bringing joy to men. 

Of the less important emblems found in 
Christian art, the anchor might be named as 
the symbol of hope, firmness, and patience ; 
also the arrow, an emblem of martyrdom. 
A heart depicted pierced with an arrow 
symbolises contrition, deep repentance, and 
devotion in trial. (See the centre of altar- 
frontal, Plate No. 15.) 
The circle, or ring, is the emblem of eternity. 
The dove, when accompanied by the 
nimbus, is the symbol of the Holy Ghost ; 
when used alone, it is the emblem of meek- 
ness and purity ; when with an olive branch 
in its beak, it is the emblem of peace. 

The griffin. — This creature, representing 
evil, is winged, with bird's claws for its hind 
feet and lion's paws for its fore feet ; the 



52 Einbi'oidery. 

beak is strong and eagle-like — a combina- 
tion suggestive of terror and power. 

The dragon is the symbol of the Evil 
Spirit. The Devil has also been symbolised 
by the serpent, and with direct authority of 
the Holy Scriptures (Rev. xii. 9 ; also xx. 2). 

The nimbus, aureole, and glory signs can- 
not properly be called symbols. They are 
really attributes, as they express nothing 
when used alone. The nimbus was adopted 
by the Christians at a very early period ; it 
is found in the catacombs of Rome, dating 
as far back as the fourth century, and it dis- 
appeared altogether in the seventeenth cen- 
tury. From the earliest times the nimbus 
encircled the head like a disc or plate behind 
the head until the fifteenth century, and 
during the following two hundred years the 
disc was replaced by an unadorned circlet, 
or ring, hovering over the head. 

The aureole encircles the whole body — 
while the nimbus encircles the head — and 
envelops it in a field of radiance. Some- 
times it takes the form of the body, clinging 
to it and appearing as a fringe of light, or it 
may be removed a short distance from the 
body, and in this case, the luminous rays do 
not closely follow the form of the figure. 



Syiitbolism. 53 

The aureole is the attribute of supreme 
power and divine omnipotence. The term 
" glory " is used to express the combination 
of the nimbus and the aureole. 

The embroideress engaged on church 
needlework may find these notes on sym- 
bolism, brief as they are, of some help to 
her. If they do nothing more, they will serve 
to warn her against some of the mistakes 
which frequently occur. Symbols are very 
often wrongly used, and emblems of the 
highest dignity are placed in secondary 
positions, and most holy signs occupy 
places where they are knelt upon and some- 
times stood upon. The bonds of symbolism, 
rules of colour, and laws of fitness should 
aid rather than hinder the designer and 
worker. 



(54) 



CHAPTER IV. 

DESCRIPTION OF DESIGNS 
ILLUSTRATED. 

The coloured frontispiece represents the 
centre portion of a quilted linen coverlet, 
embroidered with coloured silks. English, 
late 17th century [532 — 1897]. During 
the latter part of the seventeenth century 
much of the design for English em- 
broidery was influenced by Oriental work. 
The elements in this example have evidently 
been borrowed from the Chinese. The 
gaily coloured bird is specially characteristic. 
Similar birds appear in the crewel-work 
hanging given on Plate No. 4. The design 
for the quilted coverlet is not intended to 
be seriously discussed ; it is slight, delicate, 
and perhaps a little absurd, at the same time 
interesting and instructive. The stitches 
employed in the work are long-and-short, 
satin, and stem stitches, with chain stitch 
for the quilting. Plates No. i and 2 con- 
tain symbolical signs (see chapter com- 
mencing on page 36). 



Plate No. 3. 




nw 'Mjipt'' 'Mniw-Mmi»>"t.i(|j(i>' -miiifi .(s|(»!« 



Description of Designs Illustrated. 5 7 



Plate No. 3. 

Bedspread, modern, in the style of English 
seventeenth-century crewel work. Em- 
broidered at the Royal School of Art Needle- 
work. Excellent needlework was produced 
in England in the seventeenth century, and 
some of the best examples in crewel work 
have been copied by the Royal School of 
Art Needlework — in fact, the revival of this 
kind of embroidery is entirely due to the 
efforts put forward by the School, where 
for many years they have been engaged in 
making hangings, curtains, valances, bed- 
spreads, and furniture covering, using the old 
crewel- work designs. 

The subject of this plate is a characteristic 
all-over type. The idea of the spreading 
branches of trees, with various flowers, leaf 
forms, and birds evenly distributed over 
the surface in this form, was, in the first 
place, borrowed from Oriental patterns. 
There is usually along the bottom of the 
design an indication of undulated ground — ■ 



58 Embroidery. 

little hillocks of soil, over which odd animals 
prance and caper. Practically no attention 
is given to the relative proportion of the 
creatures represented. The rabbit may be 
the same size as the antelope and the 
squirrel the size of the elephant, all very 
irresponsible and indulgent. At regular 
intervals sturdy tree stems spring from the 
ground and meander upwards ; these have 
small branches which intertwine and carry 
boldly shaped leaves and flowers. The rest 
of the surface is covered with small foliage, 
and gaily coloured birds scattered among the 
branches. The large leaves are often filled 
with diapers (darnings), the outer edge 
being worked solidly, occasionally in the 
form of turnovers, in shades of green, gra- 
dated from dark to light. Green is usually 
the most predominant colour, with touches 
of tawny yellow, reds, and rich browns to 
complete the scheme. The foundation of 
the old examples is generally of linen, or a 
mixture of linen and cotton. The one from 
which our plate is made is an ivory-coloured 
twill of linen and cotton. 



Plate No. 4 



Cotton Hanging-. English, 17th Century. Embroidered in Coloured Wools 
with Leaf Forms, Small Flowers, and Birds. 



Description of Designs Ilhtstratcd. 6i 



Plate No. 4. 
Cotton hanging. English, seventeenth 
century. Embroidered with leaf forms, 
small flowers, and birds in various shades 
of olive-greens, browns, and old gold coloured 
wools ; the birds are worked in rather 
brighter colours than those for the foliage. 
At the bottom of the design there is a con- 
ventional suggestion of earth, from which 
spring the long, formal main stems at 
regular intervals. The big leaves make a 
point of curling over the main stems ; 
they are worked solidly in rows of stem 
stitch (called crewel stitch when worked in 
this form). These leaf forms are really 
groups of small leaves taking the general 
shape of a single curling leaf, as will be seen 
by the detail on Plate No. 5. The edge of 
each inner leaf is commenced by an outline 
of light-coloured wool ; then a centre line, 
representing the rib, is worked in dark 
coloured wood ; then this is followed by 
rows of stitches, graduating in colour from 
dark to light until the space is filled. 



62 Embroidery. 



Plate No. 5. 

Detail of cotton hanging, from example 
illustrated on Plate No. 4. This detail is 
given to show the direction of stitch on 
the leaves, and the system adopted in the 
introduction of darker colours. The treat- 
ment may be considered a little heavy 
compared with the method of leaf filling 
shown on Plate No. 6, also in the bed- 
spread, Plate No. 3, where a large number 
of the leaves are filled with diapers. 



Plate No. 5. 




Detail of Cotton Hanging-. English, 17th Century. Embroidered 
in Coloured Wools. 



Plate No. 6. 




t- 



Leaf in Coloured Wools, from a Linen Hanging:. English, 
17th Century [1392]- 



Description of Designs Ilhistrated. 6y 



Plate No. 6. 

Leaf in coloured wools, from a linen 
hanging. English, 17th century [1392]. 
This reproduction illustrates a light method 
of leaf treatment. The outer band of work 
is in blue wool, in close herring-bone stitch. 
The next, in green, is an Oriental stitch^one 
long stitch the width of the band crossed by 
a short one in the centre ; sometimes called 
" Roumanian stitch." Then follows a row 
of very open herring-bone stitch in green. 
This group is finished on the inside and out- 
side by a tooth border in green. Each fang 
is made with three stitches which spread at 
the base and meet and enter the material 
at the point ; the space between each tooth 
or fang is about a quarter of an inch. The 
stem and centre fibre of the leaf, in yellow, 
is formed by a double row of satin stitch 
worked on the slant ; the small veining, in 
the same colour, is in herring-bone stitch. 
The diaper filling in green is made with loops 
of wool held down (couched) by a stitch in 
the centre, thus taking the shape of a horse- 
shoe. 



6S Embroidery. 



Plate No. 7. 

No. I. Orphrey, or border to an orphrey 
altar-frontal. Spanish, about 1550 [248 — 
1880]. Ground of crimson velvet, with 
repeating conventional ornaments, alter- 
nated with roundels respectively containing 
cyphers cut out of yellow satin, outlined with 
pale blue silk cord and gold thread, and ap- 
plied (applique) to the ground. The mono- 
grams are " couched " in gold threads ; 
parts of the roundels are worked with layings 
of blue and white silk cords. 

No. II. Orphrey of antependium, or altar- 
frontal. Spanish, about 1530 [246 — 1880]. 
Consists of foliated strap work, ornamented 
in gold and silver thread with coloured silk, 
and knitted gold fringe at the lower edge. 

No. III. Orphrey, or border. Spanish, six- 
teenth century [261 — 1880]. Ground of dark 
green velvet, with conventional acanthus 
scroll and other ornament cut out of yellow 
silk applied (applique), outhned and veined 
with gold thread. 



Plate No. 7. 




No. I.-Orphrey. Spanish, 
Spanish, about 1530 [246—1880] 



about 1550 [248-1880]. No. II.— Orphrey. 
No. 1 1 I.-Orphrey. Spanish, 16th Century 
[261-1880]. 



Plate No. 8. 




Description of Designs Illustrated. 'J2> 



Plate No. 8. 

Altar-frontal, green silk ornamented with 
an applique pattern. Spanish, sixteenth 
century. The property of Sir W. Drake. 
In this interesting example a number of 
strongly contrasting coloured materials have 
been successfully brought together. The 
forms are edged and fibred with strands of 
silk, couched, the stems being crossed at 
right angles with silk cord in pairs at regular 
intervals of an inch. This method of break- 
ing up the surface, gives, by change of 
texture, value to the broader pieces. 



74 Embroidery. 



Plate No. 9. 

Border of blue satin. Spanish, sixteenth 
century [1162 — 1877]. The large details 
are in yellow satin applied (applique) ; these 
are connected with a yellow silk cord, which 
runs through, and completes the pattern. 
The applied forms are enriched by a couched 
outline of orange silk, which is utilised out- 
side the yellow silk cord. The marginal 
bands are treated in the same way, with 
silk threads laid in pairs at intervals of one 
inch. 



Plate No. 9. 




Plate Mo. to. 




Wall or Pilaster Hanging-, Applique. Italian, i6th Century [841- 1847]. 



Description of Designs Ilhtstrated. 79 



Plate No. 10. 

Wall or pilaster hanging, applique. 
Italian, sixteenth century [841 — 1847]. Of 
red velvet and yellow silk mounted on canvas, 
cut out and fitted together so as to form 
a repeating balanced pattern of scrolls and 
flowers in yellow upon a red ground. In the 
example on the left-hand side of plate, the 
various forms are outlined with yellow 
silk and silk gimp couched. The example 
on the right-hand side of this plate (dark 
ornament on light ground) is the portion 
cut away from the example on the left — 
viz. pattern in red on a yellow ground. 
The various forms are also outlined w4th 
yellow silk and silk gimp couched. 



8o Embroidery. 



Plate No. ii. 

Hanging of silk and velvet patchwork, 
applique. Spanish, sixteenth century [266 — 
1880]. Worked in grey-green silk, dark red 
velvet, and small pieces of white silk, outlined 
with a pale, string-coloured cord. This is 
an interchange pattern, one band having a 
red velvet ground with the ornament in 
green silk, and the other a green silk ground 
with the ornament in red velvet. These 
bands alternate. White pieces of silk are 
used for the berries, centres of large leaf 
forms, and ties or collars throughout the 
whole of the design. 



Plate No. II. 




Plate No. 12. 




Portion of a Hanging', Patchwork Applique. English, 
14th Century. 



Description of Designs Illustrated. 85 



Plate No. 12. 

Portion of a hanging, patchwork apphque. 
English, fourteenth century. This method 
of patchwork apphque in coloured cloths 
is admirably suited to the rendering of 
broadly treated design of this character. 
Experts assign this specimen to the four- 
teenth century, and say it is English ; while 
others see no reason why it should not be 
accepted as an example of French work of 
an earlier date. In fact, this latter was the 
view taken by the late Dr. Rock. He inti- 
mates that the design mostly represents 
incidents corresponding to those in the 
legend of Sir Guy of Warwick, an old 
English romance written in the thirteenth 
century ; but the costumes here employed are 
considerably later. The width of the lower 
panel in the illustration is 2 feet 6 inches. 
This will enable the reader to form some 
idea of the scale of the work. The piece 
on the right-hand side of this repro- 
duction, turned sideways, is obviously out 
of place ; it was never intended to be so 
arranged. 



86 Embroidery. 



Plate No. 13. 

Patchwork inlay panel. Made at Resht. 
Persian, eighteenth century [858 — 1892]. 
On a ground of ivory -coloured cloth. The 
whole of the design is inlaid — with the excep- 
tion of the stems — in crimson, cinnamon, 
pink, black, turquoise, and sapphire coloured 
cloths. The outline and stems are executed 
in chain stitch — i.e. the stems have three rows 
of chain stitch side by side. At the bottom 
of the design is a finial in the form of a con- 
ventional flower springing from a shaped 
panel, ending in birds' heads regardant ; this 
device is embroidered in gold and silver 
thread and coloured silks with forms re- 
sembling peacocks' feathers, the eyes of the 
feather-like parts being worked in marigold 
and green silk. From this panel spring 
branches, with flowers and leaves, with a 
bird perched on one of the branches. 



Plate No. 13. 




Patchwork Inlay Panel, Persian, i8th Century [858—1892]. 



Plate No. 14 




Description of Designs Ilhtstrated. 9 1 



Plate No. 14. 

Part of a hanging of linen, embroidered 
with coloured silks. Spanish, seventeenth 
century [342 — 1885]. The design consists 
of conventionally knotted scrolls, from 
which spring tulips, roses, poppies, and 
foliage, with birds holding branches of 
cherries and tendrils. The scrolls are worked 
with pink, blue, and yellow silk in satin 
stitch, edged with black silk in stem stitch. 
The flowers are mostly in satin stitch ; the 
stems are in herring-bone stitch, the buds 
in chain stitch, and the birds are in em- 
broidery, or long-and-short stitch. 



92 Embroidery, 



Plate No. 15. 

Altar-frontal. White satin, embroidered 
in coloured silks and gold threads. Spanish, 
sixteenth century. The banded ornament, 
and heart pierced with an arrow (the 
emblem of contrition, deep repentance, and 
devotion in trial), worked in gold basket 
stitch. The foliage in coloured silk, and 
worked in stem stitch chiefly. Between 
each line of silk the ground is clearly visible. 
All the lines radiate nicely from the centre 
fibre of the leaves to the outer edge. This 
open kind of stitchery is very effective ; 
there is practically as much ground seen 
as silk stitchery on all the light leaves. 
The whole of the embroidery is outlined 
with a silk cord (couched). 



Plate No. ic. 




Vltar-frontal. White Satin, embroidered in Coloured Silks and Gold Threads. 
Spanish, i6th Century. 



Plate No. i6. 




Coronation Robe of His Majesty King Edward VII. 



Description of Designs Illitstrated. 97 



Plate No. 16. 

The whole foundation of the robe, belt, 
and stole is cloth-of-gold. The only ornament 
upon the supertunica or dalmatic is em- 
broidered in old-gold-coloured silk with a 
dark brown outline, and consists of two 
bands of an interlacing pattern down the 
front. There is no embroidery on the belt. 
The armilla, or stole, is a band of cloth-of- 
gold 3 inches wide and about 5 feet 
7 inches long, with bullion fringe at each 
end. It is heavily embroidered with silver 
thread, sequins, and a little coloured silk. 
The centre ornament at the back is a pink 
rose with two leaves ; the remaining orna- 
ments are silver imperial eagles, silver and 
green shamrocks, silver, green, and purple 
thistles, and pink roses. Between each 
emblem is a silver coronet ; at each end 
is a square panel — with a blue and white 
torse above and below — worked with a red 
cross of St. George on a silver ground. 
The imperial mantle is covered with silk 
embroidery, composed of eagles in white silk 

H 



gS Embroidery. 

outlined with purple, Tudor roses in red and 
white silk with green leaves, purple and green 
thistles with green leaves, green shamrocks, 
coronets in white outlined with purple, and 
white flowers with gold centres, the latter 
symbolising Divine power. There is a 
pattern of branched laurel conventionally 
trailed around each emblem. The mantle 
is lined throughout with deep rose-coloured 
silk. To the upper edge is attached a gold 
morse or clasp, on which is embroidered an 
eagle and two roses, and a light leaf ornament 
in gold purl with rubies introduced. 



Plate No. 17. 




Description of Designs Ilhtstrated. loi 



Plate No. 17. 

Letter-bag. Gold embroidery, with 
groups of pearls for the flowers, on a velvet 
foundation. The flowers are worked with 
clusters of pearls in little concave disks of 
gold ; the leaves are in raised bullion, and 
the stems in gold cord, which is continued 
round the leaves. 



I02 Embroidery. 



Plate No. i8. 

Figure from an orphrey, embroidered 
with coloured silks and gold thread. Ger- 
man, middle of the fifteenth century 
[8670 — 1863]. On a ground of red silk is a 
diaper pattern of circles with radiating 
spirals, in laid gold threads couched with red 
silk. Upon this (worked on linen and applied) 
is a figure representing St. Catherine. Her 
cloak is embroidered in green silk — in short 
stitch — with dark blue silk lining. The 
dress, the halo, and crown are in gold thread, 
couched flatly. The lozenge-shaped piece 
of ground upon which she stands is in silver 
thread, couched. The background is 
elaborate, and when the gold was bright and 
new, the effect, though somewhat restless, 
must have been very rich. The figure, 
simple and dignified, holds in the left hand 
the well-knov/n emblem of St. Catherine — 
i.e. the wheel armed with knives. 





Plate 


; No. i8. 




4 'h 


4 i. -i 


-V 


■** 


Y Y ' ' 


X 


J^ 


4. i : 


r 


T '^ 


r v'' 


P> 






»* 


# 


^;)t^)i 


:f , 


t 





If- 



'^^'-1' 



Figure from an Orphrey, embroidered 
in Coloured Silks and Gold Thread. 
German, middle of the isth Century 
[8670— 1863] 



Plate No. 19. 




Portion of Orphrey. From the Premonstratensian Abbey of Tronchiennes, 
near Ghent. Early i6th Century. 



Description of Designs Illustrated, 107 



Plate No. 19. 

Portion of an orphrey. From the Pre- 
monstratensian Abbey of Tronchiennes, near 
Ghent. Early sixteenth century. One of 
three worked with numerous legendary sub- 
jects, from the lives of saints * ; portions of 
ecclesiastical vestments. The background 
and framing to this subject is chiefly worked 
in bullion ; the figures and boat in silk, the 
water in gold passing, and from the water- 
line upwards is a diaper formed with string 
interlaced and worked over in gold passing. 
The framework is in gold basket-work. 

* This example illustrates the passage " In the 
midst of the sea, tossed with waves : for the wind 
was contrary." 



io8 Enib7^oidery. 



Plate No. 20. 

Portion of a carpet. Persian, early 
eighteenth century [859 — 1876]. Velvet, 
embroidered in gold and silver. Kakvin is 
noted by the Persians for this kind of em- 
broidery, which is now sometimes used for 
saddle-cloths and holster-covers. This car- 
pet is beautifully worked in tambour gold 
and silver thread, giving a slightly raised 
rich effect. Gold and silver embroidery of 
this kind does not, however, seem suitable 
for carpets. 



Plate No. 20. 




Portion of a Carpet. Persian, Early i8th Century [859- 1876]. 
Velvet, embroidered in Gold and Silver 



1 1 2 Embroidery. 

Plate No. 21. 

The Syon Cope.* English, date about 
1250 [83 — 1864]. Of canvas, entirely 
covered with embroidery of various classes ; 
the interlacing barbed quatrefoils are bor- 
dered with gold thread worked in close-lying, 
short stitches, and three rows of green, or 
red, or yellow, and white silk in chain stitch. 
The ground in the alternative quatrefoil is 
filled in with green and faded crimson silks, 
worked in short stitches to form a close 
diaper of chevron pattern. On the inside of 
the embroidery hanks of loose thread have 
been laid, and are occasionally stitched over 
with green and red silk passing through the 
intervening canvas, and so adding substance 
to the embroidery. The quatrefoils enclose 
figures of our Lord, the Virgin Mary, and the 
Apostles ; with winged cherubins, or angels, 
standing on wheels in the intervening spaces. 
The faces, hands, and coloured draperies are 
worked with fine-coloured silks in small 
chain stitches. The gold embroidery is done 
in close-lying, short stitches. The orphrey, 

* See Dr. Rock, Textile Fabrics, p. 275. On 
close examination with a microscope, the flesh- 
stitch appears rather like a fine split stitch worked 
in circular lines. 



Plate No. 21 




Plate No. 22. 




Desci'iption of Designs Illustrated. 1 1 7 

morse, and hem are wrought with armorial 
bearings with coloured silks, gold and silver 
threads in small cross stitches, and are of 
later date (about fifty years). 



Plate No. 22. 

Detail from the Syon Cope. By looking 
closely into this fine specimen, Dr. Rock 
says,* " We find that, for the human face, 
all over it, the first stitches were commenced 
in the centre of the cheek, and worked in 
circular or straight lines, into which, how- 
ever, after the middle had been made, they 
fell, and were so carried on through the rest 
of the fleshes. After the whole figure had 
thus been wrought, then, with a little thin 
iron rod, ending in a small bulb or smooth 
knob, slightly heated, were pressed down 
those spots upon the faces worked in circular 
lines, as well as that deep, wide dimple in the 
throat, especially of an aged person. By the 
hollows that are lastingly sunk, a play of light 
and shadow is brought out, that, at a short 
distance, lends to the portion so treated a 
look of being done in low relief." 

* Textile Fabrics, p. 288. 



1 1 8 Embroidery. 



Plate No. 23. 

Screen panel, " Spring." Designed by 
Walter Crane. The ground is a coarse linen 
of a low-toned oatmeal colour. The design 
is embroidered with silks, chiefly in stem 
and long and short stitches. It is about the 
nearest approach to outline embroidery that 
could be without being actually accepted 
as such. The most solid work is bestowed 
upon the figures. The youth's smock is 
embroidered on the light parts only, the 
ground being utilised to represent the shad- 
ing, with a brown outline to define the folds 
of the garment. This method is also adopted 
in working the girl's costume ; her dress has 
but a few lines, representing high lights, and 
the drawing of the folds is given with the 
dark colour. The blossoms have a voiding * 
between each petal. 

'^ A narrow space round the form, similar to 
that rendered by the process of stenciUing. 



Plate No. 23. 








Plate No. 24. 




Description of Designs Illustrated^ 123 



Plate No. 24. 

Screen panels, four figures representing 
the Senses — *' Seeing," '* Smelling," " Hear- 
ing," and " Tasting." Designed by Walter 
Crane. Worked entirely in outline on a deli- 
cate coloured linen, in stem stitch for the 
drapery and split stitch for the flesh. The 
whole is embroidered with two shades of 
brown silk. 



124 Embroidery 



Plate No. 25. 

Design for an altar-frontal by Selwyn 
Image. On a white ground all the figures are 
to be worked in strong outline ; foliage in 
solid embroidery, the fruit forms filled in 
with cross stitch. 



Plate No. 26. 

Portion of a frieze, '' The Seven Ages of 
Man." Designed by Walter Crane, and 
worked at the Royal School of Art Needle- 
work. It is executed in outline — stem 
stitch with brown silk on a string-coloured 
linen ground. 



Plate No. 25 




Plate No. 26. 




Plate No. 27 




'Description of Designs Ilhistrated. 



Plate No. 27. 

Linen pillow-case. English, sixteenth cen- 
tury. The property of the Right Hon. the 
Viscount Falkland. The design, consisting 
of vine-leaves and fruit, is well balanced. 
Each leaf is filled with a dainty little diaper, 
geometric in character. The centre portion 
of the design appears to have formed part of a 
larger scheme of decoration, and the manner 
in which it is cut by the border is not 
satisfactory. The embroidery is executed 
entirely in black silk on a very fine white 
linen ground. The stitches used are button- 
hole, square chain, very closely worked ; 
the outline is in ordinary chain ; and a 
variety of filling-in stitches (darnings) are 
employed for the diapers of the leaves. 
When a design of this character is chosen, 
to be worked in one or two colours, a number 
of fancy stitches can be employed without 
spoiling the unity of effect ; but if a larger 
assortment of colours are introduced, then 
it is better not to use so many different kinds 
of stitches. 



Embroidery . 



Plate No. 28. 

Embroidery from a linen jacket. English, 
sixteenth century. This detail of em- 
broidery on linen with coloured silks has 
an all-over pattern of continuous scroll- 
ing stems, bearing a variety of leaves, 
flowers, and fruit devices somewhat natur- 
alistic in drawing. In this illustration 
honeysuckle and rose flowers and leaves 
are shown. Strawberries, sweet peas, oak 
leaves, and acorns appear in other parts of 
the design. The scrolls and stems are 
executed in chain stitch ; the leaves and 
blossoms are mostly worked on linen separ- 
ately in needlepoint lace stitches and 
applied to the linen ground of the jacket. 



PJate No. 28. 




Embroidery from a Linen Jacket. English, i6th Century. 



^ 



v/y 



/ y 



^ . ' 



Plate No. 29. 



Corner of a Linen Coverlet. Embroidered with Coloured Threads. 
Swiss, dated 1580 [851—1844]. 



Description of Designs Illnstrated. 1 3 7 



Plate No. 29. 

Corner of a linen coverlet. Embroidered 
with coloured threads. Swiss, dated 1580 
[851 — 1884]. In the design of the complete 
coverlet five ladies representing the Senses 
are shown ; each figure is accompanied by an 
explanatory attribute. There is '•' Visus " at 
one corner, with a mirror, and an eagle beside 
her ; at another " Auditus," playing a lute, 
has beside her a boar which she is enchanting 
wath her music ; in the centre is " Tactus," 
with a parrot, which pecks at her finger ; in the 
third corner " Gustus," with a plate of cakes 
and a monkey, is represented ; and lastly, 
the subject of this illustration, " Olfactus," 
smelling a flower, with a dog sleeping be- 
side her. The figures are pleasantly seated 
among foliated and floral branches. They 
are rather coarsely worked in linen threads 
— chiefly white — on a soft pink linen ground. 
A tawny-coloured thread is employed for 
the outline, except for parts of the ladies' 
dresses, which have a blue line. All the 
fillings consist of open diaper patterns. 



Embroidery. 



Plate No. 30. 

Embroidered pillow-case, from the neigh- 
bourhood of Trieste. The property of Mrs. 
Pesel. Pillow-cases of this kind were, at one 
time, in general use in most of the peasants' 
cottages. They are worked in black worsted 
in cross stitch on white linen. In the Vic- 
toria and Albert Museum there are examples 
which came from Abruzzi, worked in black 
silk, very similar in effect to the one here 
illustrated. 

Severe and simple designs lend themselves 
to this method of stitching, and anything 
of a naturalistic character should not be 
attempted in cross stitch. It is the simplest 
and one of the most ancient stitches. Pro- 
ducing as it does an angular outline, cross- 
stitch pattern is always very distinctive ; 
moreover, it is modest and naive in its aims, 
forming as it does the basis of the simplest 
peasant embroidery of all times. 

In Ruthenian embroidery we find very 
charming narrow cross-stitch borders 
worked in pronounced red and blue wor- 



Plate No. 30. 




Description of Designs Illustrated. 1 4 t 

steds. These borders make the most satis- 
factory kind of decoration for the edging 
of costumes, coUar bands, and cuff trim- 
mings. They are well proportioned and 
built up on modest lines, with just enough 
art to make them interesting. Time should 
not be wasted in producing in cross stitch 
Greek frets and key patterns arranged as 
all-over decoration. Such design in em- 
broidery can at best only satisfy the me- 
chanical mind. 



142 Embroidery. 



Plate No. 31. 

Several simple zigzag borders are given. 
The first three are of the Ruthenian type. 
If worked the same size as the illustrations, 
back stitch might be used ; if larger, they 
are very effective in cross stitch. The two 
lower borders shown on this plate are from 
Italian examples. 

Plate No. 32. 

Cross-stitch border. Embroidered on linen 
in red silk. Italian, sixteenth century [863 
— 1897]. The pattern of leaves and flowers 
springing from interlacing stems, repeats 
from A (turns over) . It is slightly smaller in 
the reproduction than in the original, but it 
could be worked this size. 



Plate No. 31. 



BORDERS IN BACK-STITCH ^FRENCH KNOTS. 
A. IN BLUE B IN RED C. IN BLUE 5c D.INRED WOOLS 



<'^>^^<yy^^c^>^^<>^>^^f-^>^ 



BORDER IN BACK-STITCH. 



BORDER IN BACK-STITCH 




A.A.A,AiAiAiAiAiAiAiAiAiAi 




eORDLR IN CROSS-STITCH & BUTTON -HOLE -STITCH , 



; II 111 ini HI y 1 1 1 H I ■ » « III iHi 1 1 1 i H I I n I I ■ I ■ HI ii B B B 



^^JW^A X^^'^'^^'^ ^^^^S^^^ 



BORDER IN SATIN-STITCH &. BACK-STITCH 



Borders for Edging of Costumes. 



Plate No. 32. 




Plate No. 33. 




Corner of a Linen Coverlet. Portuguese, Second Half 16th Century 
[326—1898]. 



Description of Designs Illustrated. 149 



Plate No. 33. 

Corner of a linen coverlet. Portuguese, 
second half sixteenth century [326 — 1898]. 
The whole of the embroidery is executed 
with a very hard and tightly twisted inen 
cord. The work consists principally of 
elaborate fancy stitches (many of them are 
given on Plates No. 62 and 63), which are 
raised above the ground. The gromid is a 
pale ecru linen, and the cord a darker biscuit 
shade. 



1 50 Evibroidery 



Plate No. 34. 

Border of a petticoat. Acquired in Crete 
(Turco-Greek ?), peasant's work. Eigh- 
teenth century [2048 — 1876]. Of coarse 
linen, embroidered with red silk in satin, 
twisted-chain, and Oriental stitches ; a 
narrow band with scrolls and blossoms set 
between two horizontal lines, above which 
are a series of scalloped-shaped groups of 
ornament, these groups repeated in alterna- 
tion on a geometrical basis formed with 
conventional leaves and flowers (carnation), 
with birds placed in every other shape. 
Most of the Cretan embroideries consist 
of borderings or banded designs for dresses, 
and are made up of repeating ornament. 
The flower and leaf forms are severely con- 
ventional, the birds and figures being more 
rudely drawn. These ornamental elements, 
which are very limited in number, are con- 
spicuously Oriental ; their arrangement in 
the design is frequently varied according 
to the taste of the worker, but she is always 
faithful to the accepted traditional details 
in the way of form, colour, and stitch. 



Plate No. 34. 




Plate No. 35. 




ai^Ckt 



Description of Designs Illustrated 155 



Plate No. 35. 

Border of a petticoat. Acquired in Crete 
(Turco-Greek ?), peasant's work. Eigh- 
teenth century [2047 — 1876]. Of canvas, 
embroidered with red silk in satin and chain 
stitches. The pattern consists of a lower 
band containing conventional ornament, 
above which are figures of men and women, 
with head-dresses and varied costumes, 
dancing in groups of five ; fanciful cypress, 
carnation, and other branches set vertically 
between them. 



156 Embroidery. 



Plate No. 36. 

Prayer carpet. Persian, eighteenth cen- 
tury [950 — 1889]. The whole of the ground, 
of white hnen, is quilted with yellow silk, and 
the design embroidered in chain stitch with 
coloured silks, chiefly white, yellow, green, 
and red. The border consists of a wide band 
set between two narrow ones, each with a 
waved, continuous stem, with blossoms in 
the wavings. Similar floral scrolling and 
leafy stem ornament fills the space beyond 
the pointed shape at upper end, which is 
edged with acanthus-leaf devices. The 
main ground below the niche, or pointed 
shape, is a blossoming plant, with evenly 
balanced bunches of flowers, between which 
are leaves formally arranged in a pointed 
shape. 



Plate No. 36. 




Carpet (Prayer). Persian, i8th Century [950-1889]. 



Plate No. 37. 




Description of Designs IlliLstratcd. i6i 

Plate No. 37. 

Border of cut linen, embroidered with 
coloured silks and silver threads. Itahan, 
late sixteenth century [225 — 1890]. The cut 
forms are edged with a silver thread, fastened 
with open button-hole stitches, with coloured 
silks to the linen ; beyond this edging are 
occasional loops of silver thread. The 
fiov/ers, fruit, and bird forms are embroidered 
solidly with coloured silks in long and short 
stitches. The border is made up of a broad 
band of repeated and reversed leafy scrolls, 
flowers, and birds, with vertical stems be- 
tween each pair of scrolls, arranged that no 
ground of either meshes or intervening ties 
are required. Attached to this broad band 
is a narrow border, with a sort of Vandyke 
edging, and repeated alternations of triple 
stem devices, with pendant buds and blos- 
soms. 

To execute such elaborately cut linen great 
care is required. One method, which is pro- 
bably the simplest, is to embroider a small 
portion of the design at a time, completing 
the edge of each form before cutting away 
the background. If the whole of the back- 
ground is cut away before the embroidery is 
done, the edges become frayed. 

M 



l6: 



Embroidery. 



Plate No. 38. 

Detail of cut linen, embroidered with 
coloured silks and silver-gilt and silver 
threads. Italian, late sixteenth century 
[100 — 1891]. Near the edge of the cut forms 
is a double silver-gilt thread ; then follows 
an edging of green silk in button-hole stitch. 
The stitch, while finishing the edge of the 
ornament, is carried over the silver-gilt 
threads, and secures them. This metal 
thread is passed from one portion of the de- 
sign to another, forming loops to assist in 
uniting the whole pattern. The leaves and 
flowers are partially worked in coloured 
silks. The reproduction is the exact size of 
the original specimen. 



Plate No. 38. 




Detail of Cut Linen, embroidered with Coloured Silks and 

Silver-gilt and Silver Threads. Italian, late 16th Century 

[100—1891]. 



Plate No. 39. 




Door-hangingf. Saracenic, 17th Century [53-1898]. 



Descriplioii of Designs I Illustrated. \ 6 7 



Plate No. 39. 

Door-hanging. Saracenic, seventeenth 
century [53 — 1898]. In brick-red coarse 
linen. The design is chiefly composed of 
circular forms, cut away, and the openings 
bound with piece silk on the cross ; the edges 
have been turned in and hemmed. These 
silks are deep indigo, pale blue, a light sage- 
green, straw, and buff. There is an inter- 
lining of thick canvas, and a dull red silk on 
the reverse side. 



1 68 Embroidery. 



Plate No. 40. 

Back of a chasuble. Italian, seventeenth 
century. 4 ft. \\ in. ; greatest length, 
2 ft. II in. [58 — 1891.] The linen founda- 
tion is entirely covered with various coloured 
floss silks laid down and stitched over with 
long parallel silk threads (couched). The 
design consists of two large corresponding 
leafy floral scrolls, each springing from a 
calyx or cup of acanthus leaf, towards the 
bottom of the chasuble, in the centre ; be- 
tween the scrolls are two balanced groups 
of triple stems, with flowers and leaves. 
About the neck is a border with a wavy line 
of leaves, and from the neck downwards, 
across various scrolling stems, flowers, and 
leaves, are two parallel yellow stripes, joined 
at their lower ends by a short stripe. The 
ground of the design is of white floss silk 
laid down and couched. 



Plate No. 40. 




Back of a Chasuble. Italian, 17th Century [58-1891. 



Plate No. 41. 




Embroidered Panel, " Pomona." Designed by the late Sir E. Burne-Jones 
and William Morris. Worked at the Royal School of Art Needlework 



Description of Designs Illustrated, 17 



Plate No. 41. 

Embroidered panel, " Pomona." Figure 
designed by the late Sir Edward Burne- 
Jones, and the background ornament by the 
late William Morris. The figure is worked in 
long and short stitch, with dull pinkish red 
silks. The face and hands were painted by 
the late Sir Edward Burne-Jones ; the large 
leafy scrolls are in laid- work. For the small 
underlying flowers and foliage long and short 
stitch is employed. The grapes in the border 
are padded. In this reproduction the scroll 
work is more predominant than in the actual 
work, and, in the writer's opinion, the scrolls 
are too large in relation to the figure. 



I 74 Embroidery . 

Plate No. 42. 

Corner of a chalice veil. Italian, seven- 
teenth century [573 — 1894]. On a ground 
of cream-coloured silk, the design is em- 
broidered in shades of yellow, orange, red, 
blue, and green silks, laid * and stitched 
down in split stitch, outlined with silver 
cord. The formal leaves and flowers (chiefly 
large tulips) are in eight groups, and radiate 
towards the centre, in which is a small cross 
in gold basket stitch. The floral groups are 
tied with ribbons in laid work, the stems to 
flowers, and scrolling bands connecting the 
groups are in silver basket stitch. 

Second example. — Border. Italian, seven- 
teenth century [686 — 1891]. The pattern, 
embroidered in long and short stitches with 
coloured silks, on a brown square-meshed 
net, consists of continuous floral scrolls, 
arranged horizontally, and springing from 
each side of a central stem surmounted by 
a flower. The upper and lower edges are 
worked with coloured silks in repeating 
pointed tooth-shapes. 

* Laid work, see ^%. I, Plate No. 57, and fig. 50, 
Plate No. 68. 



Plate No. 42. 




Corner of a Chalice Veil. Cream coloured Silk, embroidered with 
Silk, Gold and Silver Threads. Italian, 17th Century [573—1894]. 




Border of Brown Square meshed Net, embroidered with Coloured 
Silks. Italian, 17th Century [686— 1891J. 



Plate No. 43. 




Embroidery on Brown Silk Net. Italian, late i6th Century [631—1893]. 



Description of Designs Illustrated. 1 79 



Plate No. 43. 

Embroidery on a brown silk net. Italian, 
late sixteenth century [631 — 1893]. Worked 
in string-coloured linen thread with a re- 
peating design, arranged in straight rows, 
and consisting of a branch with stems and 
leaves, separated by a label. The devices 
on the second row are placed the reverse way 
to those on the first and third rows. 

This pattern is very similar in style to 
those used on the dresses in the period of 
Henry IV., Louis XIII., and Philip IV. of 
Spain ; and also appear in the paintings by 
Cornehus de Vos (1620). 



1 80 Embroidery. 



Plate No. 44. 

Portion of curtain or hanging. Italian, late 
sixteenth century [5064 — 1859]. Of black 
square-meshed net, embroidered with coloured 
silks in satin stitch, with a pattern com- 
posed of white and red flowers with green 
leaves and stems arranged on a geometrical 
foundation. It has a narrow border, slightly 
scalloped, and figured with continuous stem 
forms clothed with flowers and leaves. 

Owing to the squareness of the mesh the 
design has a certain rigidity which is generally 
pleasant, where the petals of the flowers are 
tipped with strong colours as in the flower 
" A " in the illustration ; the straight lines 
produced are too pronounced. 



Plate No 




Pcrticn of a Curtain. Black, Square-meshed Net, embroidered with 
Coloured Silks. Italian, i6th Century [5064—1859!. 



Plate No. 45. 




Description of Designs Illustrated, j 8 5 



Plate No. 45. 

Border for a chair back. Lacis work on a 
netted foundation. 



Plate No. 46. 

There are two kinds of lacis work. In one 
the pattern is darned on a netted foundation, 
and in the other on a mesh of hnen. The 
illustrations on Plates No. 45 and 46 are 
on hand-made net. The design is simply 
darned in linen threads. The stepping 
outline gives a quaint, rigid character to the 
forms, which has a distinctive value. The 
square mesh is recognised, and no attempt 
should be made to disguise it, as in the 
enlarged detail on this plate, where the 
outline of thick linen thread is taken through 
the middle of the mesh when curved forms 
are required. In this respect it is not so 
satisfactory as the border on the preceding 
plate. 



1 86 Embroidery. 



Plate No. 47. 

The specimen reproduced on p. 190 is worked 
on home-spun hnen. It is necessary to choose 
a fabric with an even warp and woof for 
such work, which is executed in the following 
manner : Tack the linen firmly on to a piece 
of American cloth, which should be wider 
than the work by an inch and a half on both 
sides. Great care is necessary in doing this, 
for if the threads are not straight when they 
are drawn out, the squares of the mesh will 
not be true. When cutting the threads, a 
pair of pointed and very sharp scissors is 
needed, also much care and patience, for a 
wrong cut is easily made and not very 
easily rectified. For ordinary patterns cut 
two threads and leave two, raising the 
threads about half an inch from where they 
have been cut to help in guiding the eye. 
A larger mesh may be required for bolder 
designs, and in those circumstances the 
judgment of the worker must be exercised 
as to the number of threads to cut and to 
leave. Draw the short threads out first, 
then cut and draw the long ones ; it is well 
not to have too long a piece in mesh before 



Plate No. 46. 



i 



-2* 



4m' ' 




Enlarged Detail of Lacis Work, on a Netted Foundation. 



Plate No. 47. 



P'i|'»-..'-r?f.ll!«V.'« I 

:f;:':l'^ • • - '■ ' . . ' 

'.:3 mmimimimmmimimimmmmttm M:]^'6\: 

' i(«[iii!Mii)«>ii«{iiiiijiiiii(jifi*if 
^'Mimmim'.m wtmiH itmm>mtmii 

^ « - '^tiHi«iwJ«i«i«'aiiiiii|'t a 

#'**' ii]pi»i»i»i»i«f<i'* j3 






«i^ Mud' . ! 












«iiii < « • « «#« g< 

*t»fl >|k n ■* ♦»» 



Description of Designs Ilhistratcd, 1 9 1 

drawing in the pattern, as the network is 
liable to get out of order. Darn in the 
pattern with a coarse thread ; Nos. i and 
2 of Taylor's Mecklenburg thread are 
suitable. To begin the darning, pass the 
needle and thread through the overcasting 
to the nearest stitch ; when some of the 
pattern is worked, run the needle through the 
darning, taking care that it is quite secure. 
To do the network, begin at the left-hand 
side and work diagonally, making two twists 
round the threads each time. For this use 
a fine thread ; No. 8 Taylor's thread is a 
good size. It is not necessary only to 
work in one colour ; a very good effect is 
produced by twisting the net ground in 
unbleached thread or coloured silk, and 
sometimes a different coloured thread is 
run round the edge of the pattern. With 
regard to designs, many cross-stitch patterns 
answer very well, taking into consideration 
that as lacis work was very much used 
in the seventeenth century, patterns of 
that period seem the most suitable for the 
purpose. 



192 Embi^oidery 



Plate No. 48. 

Child's linen cap, with bands of cut and 
drawn work, and insertion of drawn-thread 
and needle-point stitches. Sometimes called 
" Reticella " work.* Italian, seventeenth 
century [7522 — 1861]. The designs are 
similar to those found on some English 
samplers of the seventeenth century. Great 
care has been bestowed upon the making 
of the cap, and it is in every way a very 
dainty little head-dress. 

* Bone lace, net work, a net for the head. 



Plate No. 48, 



t 






■:o: 






^ -«'. .♦/? 






Plate No. 49. 




Detail from a 

Muslin Collar, 

in Drawn 

Work and White 

Embroidery. French 

early 19th Century 

[547—1903]. 



Description of Designs Illustrated, 197 



Plate No. 49. 

The detail, from a muslin collar on this 
plate, is slightly smaller than the original in 
the Victorian and Albert Museum [547 — 
1903]. It is early nineteenth century 
French work. The pattern is in drawn work 
and white embroidery in cotton threads. 
The dark parts in the illustration represent 
the drawn work ; the flowers, small leaves, 
and centres of large leaves are raised. The 
rest of the fillings of the large leaves and the 
banded form is worked in French knots with 
a fine satin-stitch outline which is also 
employed for the stems. 



Plate No. 50. 

The three examples of open-work fillings 
here given are from a cream-coloured silk 
apron, eighteenth century, English, in the 
Victorian and Albert Museum [701 — 1902]. 
X. This leaf form is filled with berries em- 
broidered in pink silk in satin stitch. These 



1 98 Embroidery. 

are connected with spiky stems in blue silk ; 
for the outline a green silk cord is used. 
Y. is an unusual flower form, the treat- 
ment of which is very varied, yielding a 
light, pleasing appearance, in the style 
of the seventeenth-century examples of 
English wool work. The lower part of the 
flower contains a simple diaper, darned ; the 
leaves are in satin stitch ; the upper part of 
the flower is in green silk and worked in 
embroidery and stem stitches, with a cord 
of green silk for the outline. Z. This 
flower has in the centre berries in plum- 
coloured silk in satin stitch, with French 
knots in white silk. The leaf branches, 
which radiate from the centre, scalloped 
form, have leaves in blue, white, and plum- 
coloured silks, embroidered in satin stitch. 
The stars are in blue silk ; the stitch employed 
is sometimes called Leviathan stitch. The 
silk is merely crossed on the surface of the 
material, and is a variety of darning very 
useful for backgrounds. The outline, as in 
the other examples on this plate, is a green 
silk cord, couched. 



Plate No, so. 




Leaf and Flower Forms from Embroidered (Apron. English, 
early i8th Century [701—1902]. 



Description of Designs Illustrated. 201 



Plate No. 51. 

The flower given below is an example 
of English eighteenth-century work. The 

m 




original is embroidered in satin stitch with 
orange and red silks on a linen ground. The 
dark lines indicate the red, following which 



202 Emb7^oidery. 

is the deep orange silk and then a paler shade 
of orange. It is a spirited and very effective 
method of working, and may be employed 
quite successfully for simpler forms than the 
flower here shown. The groups of stitches 
must take a definite shape. To follow the 
outline in crescent fashion is a good plan. 



Plate No. 52. 

Example of " Bargello work " (sometimes 
called *' Florentine "). Italian, seventeenth 
century. " Bargello work " is the name given 
a form of tapestry — a solid kind of embroidery 
with which the ground is entirely covered. 
Cushion stitch is chiefly employed, and the 
work is executed on a canvas foundation 
either in floss silks or in fine tapestry wools, 
with a blunt-pointed needle. Sometimes 
coarse canvas is used, but more often small 
point or single thread canvas. It depends 
upon the pattern selected to be worked. 
The original patterns are generally zigzag 
bands dividing the ground into spaces, 
which are filled in with geometrical designs, 
or they may be simply powderings (as in 
the example on Plate No. 53) ; these are often 



Plate No. S2. 




Example ot Bargello Work (sometimes called " Florentine "). Italian, 
17th Century. 



Description of Designs Illustrated, 205 

outlined in black on a cream or white back- 
ground. The pattern can be varied by 
working over one or more threads at a time ; 
the grounding is very often done in this way 
in order to bring out the main lines of the 
design. 

A simple way of framing the canvas for 
working, as it must not be stretched tight, 
is to pin it on to an ordinary drawing-slate 
frame, which has been padded and bound 
over and over with calico to make a hold for 
the pins. 

Bargello work is quite straightforward and 
easy to copy from the old patterns, but the 
colours are often difficult to match. One of 
the chief things to remember in working is 
to pass the thread from one stitch to the next 
underneath in such a manner that the first 
stitch made is not pulled crooked or out of 
place ; and great care must be taken in 
copying to count the threads correctly, as 
a mistake in one stitch puts the whole 
pattern wrong. 



2o6 Embroidery. 



Plate No. 53. 

Example of Bargello work in cushion and 
satin stitches. Itahan, seventeenth century. 
In this pattern the powdering of flowers 
is in cushion stitch, and the background 
consists of a diaper in satin stitch. 



Plate No. S3. 







s!:::::!:;::::i:!:i 



Example of Bargello Work, in Cushion and Satin Stitches. Itahan, 
17th Century. 



Plate No. 54- 




Portion of a Coat. French, 

Second Half of the 

i8th Century [639A-1898J. 



Description of Designs Illustrated. 2 1 1 



Plate No. 54. 

Portion of a coat. French, second half 
of eighteenth century [639A — 1898]. The 
ground is of velvet and the design is 
principally executed in very fine silk ribbon. 
The stem and centre fibre of leaves are em- 
broidered in silk threads. 

Ribbon work has become a favourite form 
of decoration during the last few years. 
The best examples are of French workman- 
ship. Their ribbon work has a lightness 
and delicacy which we do not appear to be 
able to impart to our work. Those speci- 
mens executed in narrow ribbon, as in 
the illustration here given, are the most 
satisfactory. When the broad ribbon is 
employed, the work assumes a coarse and 
foolish fancy ; and the worker is warned 
against using the wide material. Of the 
two methods of working, that of carrying 
the ribbon through the stuff is the best. 



2 T 2 Embroidery. 



Plate No. 55. 

An old Nottinghamshire smock. The 
countryman's smock is now almost entirely 
discarded by our villagers, which is to be 
deplored. Apparently countrywomen have 
lost the art of making them, or the de- 
sire or use for them is dying out. No new 
ones are to be found, and old ones are very 
scarce. Possibly the introduction of agri- 
cultural machinery has had something to 
do with the smock being cast aside. Such 
a garment would be dangerous to wear by 
those tending machines. Each English 
county had, for many years, its own particu- 
lar style of smocking and method of decora- 
ting this very useful and picturesque gar- 
ment. In some cases the style of work and 
patterns have been carried across the 
borders from one county to another, and 
the characteristics lost. Smocks were not 
only worn by men, but by milkmaids. The 
stitchery on some was very elaborate, Essex, 
Buckinghamshire, and Dorset especially ; 
others were comparatively simple ; but in 



Plate No. 55. 




Description of Designs Illustrated. 2 1 5 

every instance they were decorated with 
embroidery, as well as the smocking on 
the front, back, and wrists. They were 
made of coarse linen, mostly a pale, tawny 
colour, but sometimes a dark blue was used. 
The thread for smocking and embroidery 
was like thick flax ; it might, in some cases, 
be compared to carpet thread. There is 
nothing to be had quite like it now. The 
Nottinghamshire smock is a good type, well 
planned, and very distinctive. The em- 
broidery is executed entirely in feather 
stitch. 

Plate No. 56. 

An old Oxfordshire smock. This is rather 
simpler but none the less characteristic 
than the Nottinghamshire example. The 
treatment of the cuff and shoulder appears 
to be pretty much the same in all 
counties. The reason for this is plain — 
it would be difficult to improve upon the 
arrangement. The only variety occurs in 
the detail. The Oxfordshire smock has 
pockets with lappets, called by old country 
folks " pocket lids." All the embroidery is 
in feather stitch. 



2 1 6 Embroidery, 

To the Fine Needlework Association the 
writer is indebted for the loan of the two 
examples here illustrated. This Association 
makes smocking a special feature of their 
work, and a very high standard has been 
attained by them in this beautiful old 
Englisli art. 



I 



Plate No. 56. 




(219) 



CHAPTER V. 

IMPLEMENTS, APPLIANCES, AND 
MATERIALS USED IN EMBROIDERY. 

In all artistic handicrafts good workman- 
ship is obviously an essential quality, and, 
in ordinary circumstances, to obtain technical 
excellence, good tools are necessary. The 
embroideress requires but few tools and ap- 
pliances, and these should be the simplest 
and best that are made. 

Needles. — It is a mistake to use a very fine 
needle. The silk thread or crewel must pass 
loosely into the eye. Unless the eye is re- 
latively larger than the silk, it does not 
make a sufficiently large hole in the material, 
and the silk is then roughened and pulled out 
of shape each time it is taken through the 
too-small hole. 

For general purposes needles known by the 
name of long-eyed sharps are recommended. 
When a thick twisted silk is being used, a 
needle with a roundish eye is the most ser- 



2 2 o Efndroidery. 

viceable. For darned net work (lacis work) 
and canvas work, needles with blunt points 
are the best. For gold work the needle 
should have a long eye and a sharp point — 
a " rug needle " is useful for carrying cord 
through the material. 

Thimbles. — Workers usually prefer ivory 
or vulcanite thimbles. Both steel and 
silver ones are used, but unless they are well 
made or worn smooth, they destroy the 
thread. Two thimbles are employed for 
frame work. 

Scissors. — Short, sharp, and finely pointed 
scissors are the best. For cutting out work 
a fairly large pair with one sharp and one 
rounded point is required. 

Frames. — The drawing given on page 221 
illustrates a common type of frame. It con- 
sists of two round pieces of wood, which have 
a mortise at each end. Strips of webbing are 
securely nailed along these, extending the 
full length of the wood between the mortises — 
to this webbing the work is sewn. For the 
sides of the frame two fiat pieces of wood, 
with holes pierced at regular intervals, are 
used ; these pass through the mortises, and 
the width of the frame is adjusted and the 
work kept tightly stretched by means of 



Impleinents, Appliances, Materials. 2 1 1 

metal pins, which are inserted in the holes by 
each mortise. String is laced through the 
material and round the flat side-pieces of 
wood to stretch the work in the opposite 
direction. 

There is another kind of frame, which has. 




Embroidery Frame. 

in place of the flat laths with metal pins, 
wooden screws fitted with movable nuts to 
adjust the width of the frame. 

A fixed stand for the frame is often used ; 
they are very convenient, but not always 
necessary. The worker can rest the frame 
against a table, or on the back of a chair, if 
she is not using a very large one. Trestles 



2 2 2 Embroide ry . 

are employed to support the frame for big 
work. 

The frame must be wider than the em- 
broidery by a few inches, all round ; the 
work should never spread to the full width of 
the webbing or the lacing. If a long, narrow 
panel is being worked, the embroidery is 
rolled on the round top and base of the frame, 
only a small piece being exposed at a time 
for the purpose of working. 

A tambour frame is useful for small work 

(see draw- 
ing). It is 
formed of 
two rings, or 
hoops, usual- 
ly of wood, 
but s o m e - 
times of iron, made to fit closely one inside 
the other. If metal hoops are used, they 
must be covered with flannel or baize — a 
strip wound tightly round. Occasionally 
the wooden ones are covered in this way, 
but is only necessary when they become 
a little loose. They must fit well — there 
should be only just enough room for the 
inner hoop to pass through the outer one. 
The stuff to be embroidered is placed over 




Tambour Frame. 



Implements, Appliances^ Materials. 223 

the small hoop ; the other one is then 
pressed down over the material, which is 
firmly stretched by this process. A screw is 
sometimes used to fasten the hoops together 
and to fix the frame to a table. 

Piercers made of steel are used for piercing 
holes in the material for the passage of gold 
and all kinds of coarse threads. The broad 
end of this instrument can be used to place 
the gold in position, to make floss silk lie 
flat, and in some forms of couching to arrange 
the lie of the thread. 

For transferring patterns to the material 
the following articles are needed : 

Prickers, a long needle for making the 
pounce, a small sahle brush, Indian ink, 
Chinese white, gum arahic, ox-gall, a tube of 
flake white, one of lamp black (oil colours), 
turpentine, white chalk and charcoal pow- 
dered, and a small roll of flannel (about 4 
inches wide) to serve as a pad for pouncing. 

Materials. 

Crewels. — Never take more than about 
half the length of a skein in your needle. 
If a long needleful is used, it is not only 
wasteful, but liable to pull the work, and 
become frayed or knotted before you have 



2 24 Embroidery. 

used it all. Crewels manufactured with a 
twist are considered unsuitable. No doubt 
a twisted crewel wears better, but it tends 
to produce a hard appearance, and in the 
hands of an inexperienced worker the em- 
broidery is rendered tight and severe by 
its use. 

The colours in the best quality crewels 
are perfectly reliable, and will wash well, 
provided no soda or strong soaps are used. 

Tapestry wool is more than twice the 
thickness of crewels. Useful for bold 
designs. 

Arrasene.'^ — A species of worsted chenille, 
also useful for broad effects. It is made in 
silk as well, but is inferior to the worsted. 

Flax Threads.^ — This is a production of 
comparatively recent date, which is glossy, 
even, good in colour, and durable. This 
thread has almost driven the old-fashioned 
ingrained cottons out of the field. 

Silks. t — That known as " bobbin silk," an 
untwisted floss, is mostly used for fine work. 

* Faudel's Glace Chenille is recommended for general 
embroidery. 

f The D.M.C. flax threads. Barbour's linen thread 
and Peri-Lusta are all reliable. 

X See Maygrove & Co.'s., Corticelli and the D.M.C. 
lists. 



Implements, Appliances, Mateinals. 225 

Filo floss is easier to work, as it has a slight 
twist ; and the gloss is very beautiful. 
The silk for general purposes is called 
" embroidery silk." Purse silk is a tightly 
twisted kind, excellent in quality, and much 
used for ecclesiastical purposes. 

Raw or Spun Silk. — A cream-coloured, 
soft, untwisted silk. 

Filoselle is an inferior quality of silk ; 
nevertheless, it can be used for many different 
kinds of work. But when silk or satin 
grounds are employed, always work with 
the best silk. 

Tussore. — A wild silk of India. Can be 
produced for less than half the price of 
the cultivated silk of Italy, China, and 
Japan. 

Gold and Silver Threads,^ etc. 

There is a good deal of " Japanese gold 
thread " used both in ecclesiastical as well 
as domestic work at the present time. Where 
silk embroidery calls for a gold outline, the 
Japanese gold answers that purpose well. 
When the best gold is desired, the following 
list may be of some assistance : 

Passing. — A bright, smooth thread. 

* See George Kenning & Son's lists, 

Q 



2 26 Embroidery. 

Tambour. — Like " passing," but finer. 

Rough Purl. — Dull. 

Smooth Purl. — Bright. 

Check Purl. — Rough and sparkling. 

Pearl Purl. — In effect like small beads 
strung together. 

Bullion. — The larger sizes of '' purl." 

Plate. — A flat gold about xV in. wide. 

There are gold-twisted cords of various 
thicknesses. 

Purl may be either in gold or silver. It 
is made in a series of continuous rings rather 
like a corkscrew. Can be cut at the required 
lengths, threaded on the needle, and fastened 
down as in bead work. 

Plate is a narrow, flat piece of gold or 
silver, about xV inch wide, and is stitched to 
the material by threads of silk, which pass 
over the metal. 

Gold and Silver Passing and Tambour. — 
Fine kind of threads. Can either be used 
for working through the material, or laid 
and couched in the usual way. 

Precious stones, pearls, beads, and disks 
of gold are skilfully used, but great care and 
judgment must be exercised in their applica- 
tion. The " Letter-bag" shown on Plate 
No. 17 has clusters of pearls and concave 



Implements y Appliances, Materials. 227 

disks of gold applied in conjunction with 
gold threads. 

Spangles and Sequins. — Sometimes of pure 
gold. There are a number of various col- 
oured metal spangles and sequins. 

Fabrics used as Grounds for 
Embroidery. 

Linen. — Hand-made linens are the best. 
The textures are most beautiful, and, as a 
rule, the colours are good and in every way 
admirable for embroidery purposes. Among 
the ordinary machine-made linens there is 
no difficulty in finding all shades and 
qualities. When there is dressing in the 
linen, it is advisable to boil it well before 
commencing the embroidery. The un- 
bleached linen known as " flax " is satis- 
factory as a ground for needlework, and the 
twilled linens, especially " Kirriemuir twill," 
are excellent for crewel work. Sail-cloth is 
a stout, yellow-coloured linen. Oatmeal 
linen is finer and of a greyer tint than oatcake 
linen. Smock linen is a strong, even, green 
fabric. 

Serge, soft or super serge, carries embroidery 
well. 

Cricketing flannel is a fine creamy colour. 



2 28 Embroidery . 

soft, and can easily be worked in the 
hand. 

Felt is used, but only very seldom, for 
altar-cloths and curtains. 

Diagonal Cloth, for table linen, curtains, 
etc., is occasionally chosen by workers. 

Genoese velvet is very rich in colour and 
quality for grounds. It should be '' backed ' ' 
with a cotton or hnen lining if it is to be 
heavily embroidered. Velveteen is employed 
for some purposes, and Utrecht velvet at 
times for crewel or tapestry wool embroidery. 
Velvet- face cloth is a rich plain cloth, without 
gloss ; suitable for altar-cloths. 

Silks and satins are usually embroidered 
in a frame. Both are very beautiful as 
backgrounds, particularly the ribbed and 
patterned silks, which are called into service 
for many kinds of embroidery. 

Tussore and Corah silk grounds are very 
charming and delicate, but they will only 
carry light embroidery, in silk. 

Silk Sheeting. — Of good quality, suitable 
for piano coverings, panels, etc. Can be 
embroidered in the hand. 

Brocades are admirable for grounds. The 
patterned surface, if well chosen, gives 
a pleasant contrast to the embroidery. 



Implements, Appliances, Materials. 229 

There are also a number of silk and linen 
mixtures procurable which are suitable 
grounds for embroidery. 

Dorneck. — A name given to an inferior 
kind of damask wrought of silk, wool, linen 
thread, and gold in Flanders. Towards the 
end of the fifteenth century it was used 
much for church furniture. 

Cloth of Gold and Silver. — Chiefly used 
for heraldic and ecclesiastical embroidery. 

Bandekin. — That sort of costly cloth-of- 
gold which took its famous name from 
Baghdad. 

Saniit or Examitur. — A six-thread silk stuff 
preciously interwoven with gold threads. 

Transferring Designs. 

The transferring of designs on to the 
material is at no time a very easy occupation, 
and is certainly one which most people 
prefer to have done for them. However, 
it is necessary ; and it should be done by the 
designer or embroiderer. There are several 
methods. First, there is the old and much- 
used pouncing method. Trace the design 
on a fairly tough piece of tracing-paper, 
place the tracing on a fold of flannel ; with 
a needle prick out all the lines, making as 



230 Embroidery. 

many as eighteen or twenty holes to each 
inch. If the two halves of the design are 
exactly alike, fold it down the centre, and 
so prick both at once. Then place this 
pricked tracing on the material you are to 
embroider, roll a long strip of flannel, about 
4 inches wide, very tightly into a solid 
cylindrical shape, to use as a pouncer. If 
the material is light in colour, use finely 
powdered charcoal ; if dark, use fine French 
chalk, and with the roll of flannel rub the 
powder through the small holes. Then 
remove the tracing very carefully so as not 
to smudge the powder, and with a fine brush 
draw in the lines made by the powder, using 
Chinese white, with a little gum arable to 
make it stick, and a little ox-gall to make 
it run 'smoothly. If black is required, use 
lamp-black or Indian ink ; sometimes flake 
white or ivory black (oil colours) are used, 
thinned with a little turpentine. 

Another method is that with tarlatan. 
Trace the design accurately on to rather 
fine tarlatan. Then pin it out tightly and 
evenly on the material you are to embroider, 
and go over the lines with a drawing-pen or 
a brush, with Indian ink or Chinese white. 
This method is not difiicult, but requires 



Implements, Appliances, Materials. 2 



infinite care. See the tarlatan does not slip 
out of its proper place. 

The third plan is to put transfer paper 
under your design, on a firm, hard surface, 
and with a knitting-needle, agate, or steel 
tracer, go over the lines very evenly. 

Drawn Thread Work. 

Stitches. — The withdrawing of either the 
warp or woof threads of a linen or cotton 
material within certain narrow bands or 
squares, and gathering together in groups 
the remaining threads by darning or with 
overcasting stitches, is one of the most 
modest forms of ornamental needlework. 
For table linen, pillow cases, towels and 
suchlike articles of every-day use, these un- 
pretentious little patterns always seem right. 
Apart from the fitness of this unaffected 
kind of decoration, drawn thread work wears 
well, provided simple and not particularly 
open patterns are used. Some elaborate 
designs are produced in this class of needle- 
work — in fact, it can be made as fine as 
delicate lace, and in this form it is frequently 
employed in the ornamentation of costumes. 
Drawn work, carried to a lace-like and dex- 



232 Embroidery. 

terous stage, is dealt with in handbooks 
specially devoted to the work. On Plate 
No. 45 a significant type of design in 
lacis work (suitable for drawn work) is 
shown, and on Plate No. 47 a similar piece 
of ornament is given, and the method of 
working described on page 188. Of the 
banded or insertion group the one here 
shown claims the attention of the worker 




Drawn Thread Border, from an old 
Egyptian Example. 

on account of the unusual course adopted in 
edging the drawn work. The drawing has 
been prepared from an ancient Egyptian 
example in which the stitching is executed 
in two colours on a very loosely woven fabric. 
In order to make the diagram of the greatest 
use to the worker, the woven threads have 
been represented much more open than 
they are in the original ; the solid black 
parts indicate the piercings. 

This interesting fragment is worked in 



Implements, Appliances, Materials. 233 




Threads are first 
about \ inch, and 
introduced in the 
embroideress has 
edge threads by 
the " hem " and 



\ 



f STITCH. 




the following manner, 
removed to a depth of 
where the hem stitch is 
usual way, the ancient 
divided and secured the 
a stitch which combines 
"back" stitches 
of ordinary 
plain sewing. 

The accom- 
panying d i a- 
gram will show 
the two pro- 
cesses w h i c h 
form the stitch. 

It will be seen that the needle was inserted in 
the drawn space, pointing obliquely upw^ard. 
Four threads were taken upon it, counting 
upward, and four, counting from the right to 
left (stitch i). Having drawn the needle and 
thread through, a horizontal stitch was made. 
For this the needle was inserted four threads 
to the right of its last point of exit, and 
brought up to this point again (stitch 2). 
At the end of the border two rows of this 
stitching appear, worked one within the 
other, and forming a little " brick " pattern. 
This, however, is not shown in the diagram. 



Stitches for working- the Edge of 
Drawn Thread Border. 



2 34 Embroidery. 

Having secured the edges in this way, 
the worker darned the groups of threads in 
alternate masses of yellow and red. Starting 
at the edge of the border, she darned two 
groups of four threads together. Halfway 
across she included a third group, and darned 
the three together to the other edge. Then 
she passed her needle down the darning of 
the last group to the central point where it 
began, and worked back again to the first 
edge, connecting the undarned half with 
two more groups. Once more the needle 
was passed to the middle, and the unworked 
halves of the two last groups were darned 
together to the other edge. 



(^35) 



CHAPTER VI. 

ECCLESIASTICAL AND HERALDIC 
NEEDLEWORK. 

The noblest and most perfect examples of 
ecclesiastical needlework produced in olden 
times reveal the decorative value of gold 
and silver threads. In some instances the 
work is executed entirely in threads of 
precious metal, but mostly such threads 
are employed in conjunction with coloured 
silks. The earliest preserved specimens of 
Anglo-Saxon needlework of this kind are to 
be found in the library of Durham Cathedral. 
They consist of a stole and maniple which 
were taken from the tomb of St. Cuthbert 
in 1826-7. The embroidery is in blue, 
green, red, and purple silks, with gold threads 
on a linen ground. They bear inscriptions 
which dispel all doubt as to the date of the 
work, and definitely state that the order 
was given for Bishop Fridestan by Queen 
Aelffiaeda. Another and more important 



236 Embroidery . 

piece of embroidery is the dalmatic of Charle- 
magne, which is considered to come first 
and rank highest among ecclesiastical needle- 
work — said to belong to the eighth century 
— and is wrought mostly in gold. Fragments 
of gold thread embroidery of historical in- 
terest were found in the cofhn of William de 
Blois (1218-36), and some very elaborately 
executed gold work from a vestment — be- 
lieved to have been worn by Bishop Walter 
de Cantelupe (1236-66) — belonging to the 
Dean and Chapter of Worcester, give further 
proof of the splendours and extravagance in 
ancient gold thread needlework, and of 
the skill bestowed upon this phase of the 
craft. There is no question of the orna- 
mental value of gold and silver in ecclesi- 
astical and heraldic work. The dalmatic, 
or vestment, can be ornamented entirely in 
gold on purple, scarlet, blue, and the richest 
coloured fabrics, without the slightest fear 
of gaudiness or vulgarity. As a medium 
for bringing strong contrasting colours into 
harmony, gold cannot be beaten. For 
domestic decoration it must be used with 
the greatest reticence. 

The designer for church and heraldic work 
is called upon to treat his figures, animals, 



Ecclesiastical Work. 237 

and symbolic ornament with severity. The 
objects must read clearly at once in a 
firm and graphic manner ; frequently a 
rich, bold outline in necessary. To the 
practical artist in the different branches of 
ecclesiastical decoration, an acquaintance 
with Christian symbolism is all important. 

In the most expressive periods of heraldic 
art gold thread was largely utilised in 
needlework. Without these precious fibres 
heraldic embroidery would lose much of its 
stately beauty, and fail in conveying its 
meaning so forcibly. Heraldic signs are 
often the only clue to authorship ; they may 
furnish the lost link in a broken pedigree, or 
unravel an entangled point in family history. 
The heraldic patterning on the orphrey of 
the Syon Cope (Plate No. 21) — independent 
of its ornamental beauty — throws some light 
upon the early history of this remarkable 
vestment. 

We read that " Cromwell produced in the 
House of Lords, by way of evidence against 
the aged Countess of Salisbury, a vestment 
(probably a chasuble) of white silk that had 
been found in her wardrobe, embroidered 
in front with the arms of England, sur- 
rounded with a wreath of pansies and mari- 



238 Embroidery , 

golds, and on the back the representation of 
the Host with five wounds of our Lord, and 
the name of Jesus written in the midst. 
The peers permitted the unprincipled minister 
to persuade them that it was a treasonable 
ensign ; and as the countess had corres- 
ponded with her absent son (Cardinal Pole), 
she was for no other crime attainted for high 
treason, and condemned to death without 
the privilege of being heard in her own 
defence.* 

The old heraldic designer emphasised the 
striking features of the objects he repre- 
sented ; nothing is left vague or indefinite. 
The bold characteristics of the creatures he 
pictured have become signs of great historical 
importance. 

The modern embroideress approaches the 
subject of heraldry with doubt and mis- 
givings, and unless she has acquired some 
knowledge of the work, there is very good 
reason for her moving cautiously. It is 
well to secure the services of a student in the 
art, if there is the slightest fear, for great 
care must be exercised in the using of these 
signs which convey so much meaning. 

* Miss A. Strickland's " Queens of England," 
iii. p. 68. 



Ecclesiastical Work. 239 

The imaginative symbols of spiritual ideas, 
and the qualities assigned to some of them, 
are explained in the chapter commencing on 
page 36. 



(240) 



CHAPTER VII. 

STITCHES. 

A GOOD design may lose much of its beauty 
and character, in embroidery, by an in- 
judicious selection of stitches. It is difficult 
to say just where the charm and interest 
produced by the texture in stitching rests ; 
and it is not easy to learn. Careful observa- 
tion and experience are needed ; and if 
there is a natural gift for the work, it is all 
the better. But the worker can rest assured 
that these qualities do not lie in the novelty 
and variety of the stitches employed, for the 
most common and simplest are the best ; and 
while some of these answer certain purposes 
and those only, there is still great scope for 
the worker's judgment and taste in the 
choice of stitch and method of execution. 
The first step is to make a general survey of 
the stitches, learn the ordinary straight- 
forward kinds, and the others, which are 
merely variations and elaborations of the 
simpler structural kinds, will follow if the 
worker perseveres. When a certain stitch is 
called by two or three different^names, the 
writer has attempted to give all of them in 



Stitches. 241 

the text. But much confusion has arisen 
with regard to the distinguishing names 
which it is impossible to remedy, for we find 
accepted authorities referring to the same 
stitch by his or her own special name. 

The following stitches are all either in 
general use or recognised as good from much 
experience, or they are taken from old work 
in the Victoria and Albert Museum. 

Stitches (such as figs. 19, 20, 23, 26, 27, 
28, and 31) which depend partly for their 
charm on the twist of the knot or interlace- 
ment being seen, are best worked in some 
tightly twisted silk. It has been necessary 
to draw many of the stitches with an appear- 
ance of greater openness than is evident 
in their actual state, for otherwise the inter- 
lacing and position of the thread would not 
have been clearly visible. 

Never use very long needlefuls ; and see 
that the eye of the needle is large enough to 
take the silk easily, otherwise the silk or 
wool is rubbed and roughened in its passage 
backwards and forwards through the 
material. When the work is executed in 
the hand without the use of a frame, the 
material must be held in a convex position 
over the fingers, so that the silk, flax thread, 
• R 



242 Embroidery, 

wool, or other fibre with which the design 
is being embroidered shall be looser, when 
the stitch is made, on the surface than the 
foundation material. These remarks apply 
generally to all embroideries worked in the 
hand, and, if carefully observed, will aid in 
preventing the pulling or puckering of the 
work. 

The simplest types of stitches which can 
be worked in the hand are stem stitch,* 
split stitch, satin stitch, embroidery stitch, f 
buttonhole stitch, blanket stitch, knotted 
stitch or French knots, bulHon knot, the 
chain stitches, cross stitch, and darning. 

The frame should be used for laid work, 
couching, applique, and all solidly stitched 
designs. A much more even effect is ob- 
tained by its use, and in the general way it 
is utilised for working the whole range of 
stitches. After learning the outline, border, 
and diaper groups of stitches in the hand, 
it is well to take to the frame ; and the worker 
will find, when she has become accustomed 
to its use, she can do most of her work better 
in the frame than out of it. 

* Also called crewel stitch. 

t Also called long-and-short stitch, plumage 
stitch, and feather stitch (Opus Plumariurn). 



Plate No. 57. 



^ 1 


UU. 1 ^- 


ftAfK. 


1 um ^«K«^ 




SfUT f««.P'P«WHW.TrtjrUT 


STCM ^T«TCH. 


STITCH. 



-HatfcSiTtH. 



M-Ly, 



//// 



ftOTToH-HOyEL 

»T.TCH. 



Hr)rM 



TeNT-ST,TCH 




fibiigiiii^i 



Slf^Pte CROSS STJTCH. 






-7^^ 



-KNOT. 



Stitches. 245 



Plate No. 57. 

Stem Stitch (fig. i). — The first stitch 
usually taught to beginners. It is one of the 
simplest, and a most useful stitch for work 
done in the hand. Each stitch should 
follow on a line in a slanting direction — a 
long stitch forward on the surface, and a 
shorter one backwards on the underside of 
the fabric. 

A prominent place is given stem stitch as 
an outline stitch, although it is frequently 
used for gradated and flat fillings and 
especially for crewel work — hence the name, 
" crewel stitch," by which it is also known. 
Whether used for covering a surface or as 
an outline, the working is exactly the same 
in each instance. When employed for 
solid work, the stitches run in rows, like a 
number of lines placed close enough to cover 
the ground, but the}^ must not overlap in 
any way. This stitch yields a very decora- 
tive effect when worked in gradated colours. 
Two or three rows of the lightest colour are 
sewn, and then follow a few fines of each 



246 Embroidery. 

shade in order to the darkest one. See 
examples on Plates Nos. 4 and 5. 

Back Stitch (fig. lA, given below), for 
line work, is especially useful when a thin 
delicate line is required. The diagram ex- 
plains the working. It will be seen that the 
needle enters the material at the point where 
the last stitch finished and is brought through 
a little beyond (not more than ^ inch) where 
it came out in making the previous stitch. 




lA.— Back Stitch. 

Split Stitch (fig. 2). — Also used for line 
work, sometimes for holding the silk in its 
place in laid work (see fig. 3), and occasionally 
for solid work. In many historical examples 
of needlework draperies are executed entirely 
in split stitch, and in some instances the 
flesh as well. It appears very much like a 
fine chain. The working is easy ; an ordinary 
stitch is taken on the line required and the 
thread is brought up through this stitch, 
which it splits in passing, as the name implies. 



Stitches. 247 

Rope Stitch (fig. 4). — Useful for giving a 
thick, raised line when it is closely worked. 
Put the needle through on the edge of the 
line to be worked, and bring it out on the 
other edge in a slanting direction ; hold the 
thread down on the surface with the left 
hand, and, where the point of the needle comes 
through, the loose thread passes under. To 
make a solid bold line, it is necessary that 
the needle should be put in as close as possible 
to the top of the preceding stitch. 

Buttonhole Stitch (fig. 5) is familiar to 
every one. The w^orking can be clearly seen 
by the diagram. 
In the drawing it ^^^''''^v^ 
is represented ^^^^ "i T^r'^>*fc. 
rather open ; both ^ H V ^^ 

open and closed it / Iflll I \ 

can be used effec- \ \\ / / 

tively. The spacing \ \\i^^i -^ 

can also be varied ^^J — ^ 
in many ways ; two 
stitches together, 

,. _ 5B.— Tailor's Buttonhole Stitch. 

then a space and 

two stitches again falling alternately, makes a 
good edging. Further, by changing the direc- 
tion and crossing the stitch, working one over 
the other, as in fig. 5A, an interesting border 



248 Embroidery, 

is made. For open fillings of leaves, flowers, 
and all kinds of spaces, buttonhole stitch is 
very serviceable. Numerous effects are ob- 
tained by working the stitches in rows. A 
solid filling with this stitch is given by closely 
working each row into the heading of the 
previous one. The stitches only enter the 
material in the first row and at the ends of 
each successive row, on the boundary line 
of the form being filled. The tailor's method 
of making buttonhole stitch with an extra 
knot in the heading is strong and very de- 
corative (see fig. 5B, page 247). 

French Knots (fig. 6). — After the thread 
is brought through the material, the silk is 
twisted twice round the needle, whilst hold- 
ing it tightly with the left finger and thumb. 
Then put the needle in again near the point 
it came out first and draw the silk through, 
only releasing it with the left finger and 
thumb as it tightens in the pulling. The 
number of twists round the needle can be 
varied ; two turns are usual. 

This knotted stitch does not seem to be 
confined to any country. Though much 
favoured by Oriental needle-workers, we 
find it in Spanish, Italian, and old English 
work. It is employed in the last named 



Stitches. 



249 



for rendering the foliage of trees and 
shrubs. 

The rose here illustrated (from Chinese em- 
broidery) is entirely in French knots in three 
shades of silk. 




Rose in French Knots. 

Another variety of knotted stitch which 
resembles bullion is Bullion Knot (fig. 6a). 
A stitch is taken into the material the length 
of the roll required ; the thread is then 
twisted perhaps seven or eight or more times 
round the point of the needle, which is with 



250 Embroidery. 

great care drawn through the coil made by 
the twists, the left thumb being placed 
lightly upon the coil during the process. 
The needle is then inserted again in the place 
where it first entered the material. In other 
words, you treat the thread in the same way 
you would bullion or purl. 

Tent Stitch* (fig. 6b), like cross stitch, is 
usually worked upon an open web, net, or 
coarse canvas ; but it does not follow that 
the worker is forbidden to use either of the 
stitches on fine-textured materials. In 
makmg tent stitch on an open mesh, the 
needle is stepped diagonally from one thread 
of the fabric to the next in a line. It is the 
first half of the cross stitch. 

Cross Stitch f (fig. 6c). — A regular and even 
cross on the surface. See Plates No. 30 and 
32. 

* Called canvas stitch and cushion stitch (Opus Pul- 
vinarium). Gobelin stitch is a variety of tent stitch. 
When worked on canvas, the needle is taken over two 
threads each time instead of one, as in tent stitch. 

f Called mosaic stitch, canvas stitch, and cushion 
stitch. The cushion or canvas stitch group is rather 
confusing with regard to the various names by which 
they are known. They are called Hungarian, Spanish, 
Florentine, Bargello, Parisian, Moorish, Milailese, 
Gobelin, Cashmere, or Indian, Irish,. Holbein, and 
Rococo. 



Plate No. 58. 




Stitches, 253 



Plate No. 58. 

Figs. 7 to II on this plate illustrate stitches 
which can be worked in the hand or the 
frame. They are all suitable for narrow 
bands or borders, when a braid-like effect is 
sought. 

Figs. 7 and 8 are worked along the finger 
from left to right, the needle always pointing 
downwards. They can both be worked 
openly to show the ground between the 
stitches, or closed. 

Figs. 9 and 10 * are worked across the 
finger, the needle always pointing on the 
slant towards the centre from the left and 
right alternately. 

Fig. ii.t — Also held towards the worker 
across the finger, the needle pointing from 
right to left downwards in a slanting direc- 
tion and upwards alternately. 

* Called plait or Cretan stitch. 
\ Called Roumanian stitch. 



254 



Embroidery. 



Plate No. 



59- 



Chain Stitch (fig. 12) is made by taking a 
stitch downwards, and before the needle is 
drawn out of the fabric, the silk is brought 
round towards the worker and under the 
point of the needle. Chain stitch is found in 




Leaf outlined and veined in Chain Stitch. 

the earliest examples of ornamental needle- 
work. It has been used at all times, for all 
purposes. There are a quantity of examples 
amongst the Persian and Indian work in 
the Victoria and Albert Museum, where the 



Plate No. 59. 



J &I\CK.. 



s«?yftft£<H«JN -cLostr*. 



or£H , 



/\ aacK, 




/ I I 






SfVTtH 
STiTCH, 



Stitches. 257 

ground is filled in solidly with chain stitch. 
In these embroideries the stitch has been 
executed on the tambour frame with a 
crochet-hook, which replaces the needle. A 
regular and mechanical result is produced 
by this method, and the worker will find it 
is more satisfactory not to use the crochet- 
hook, but to be content with the needle for 
working this stitch. 

A good border is made by square chain, 
worked openly or closed (see figs. 13 and 
14). To commence these stitches two parallel 
lines are marked on the material, and 
the needle is taken through from one 
to the other, the thread being looped under 
the point of the needle as it comes out 
of the fabric each time. Figs. 12, 13, 14, 
are all worked on the same principle, as will 
be seen by the diagrams. 

When variety in line is demanded, the 
chain can be arranged as a zigzag, worked 
between two traced lines, as in figs. 13 and 
14. One link slants across and the other 
back, up and down. 

Herring-hone (fig. 15). — A stitch well 
known to the seamstress, and very easy to 
work. Imagine two parallel lines marking 
the width of the space to be filled with the 



258 Embroidery. 

stitch, bring the needle through on one Hne, 
pass over to the other hne and insert the 
needle a little in advance of where it came 
out on the first line, take up about an eighth 
of an inch of the material, draw the needle 
through, pass over to the opposite line, and 
repeat the stitch farther along, and so on from 
side to side. On the back of the material 
the effect is that of two rows of back stitch. 

Overlapping K erring-hone (fig. 16) is 
worked on the same lines. A longer stitch 
is made each time ; the method of over- 
lapping is explained by the diagram. 

Satin Stitch (fig. 17). — This is apparently 
the most simple of stitches, but is really 
quite one of the hardest to do well ; the 
edge must be so accurate, the stitches be 
made to lie so evenly, and the slope and its 
change of direction be so gradual, that it 
taxes at first the patience of the worker. 
However, once it has been mastered its charm 
is great, and few stitches equal it for severity. 
It shows to the best advantage the beauty of 
the silk and its gloss. The same amount of 
silk or crewel remains on both back and 
front of the work ; it is, therefore, not the 
most economical stitch. 

The sketch represents an ordinary kind of 



Stitches. 



259 



filling in which the stitches run parallel to 
each other. When the space to be covered 
is tapering in form and the stitches are to be 
directed towards the point, great care is 
needed in radiating the lines of the stitches. 
There is also a method of dove-tailing 
stitches, when several shades of silk have to 
be used for the petal of a flower — as in the 
rose here illustrated — or when rows of stitches 
are employed to suggest the overlapping of 
petals. It is also necessary to adopt this 
way of working if the surface to be covered 
with satin stitch is a large one. 




Rose in Satin Stitch. From a Silk Cover, Chinese. 



26o Embroidery. 



Plate No. 6o. 

Figs. i8 and 19 both illustrate useful 
stitches for line work. These, with " snail- 
trail " (fig. 21), are referred to as " German 
Knot " and " Running Knot " by some 
workers. The sketches explain the working 
of each stitch. 

Single Coral (fig. 18) with buttonhole each 
side makes a good narrow border. 

Tied Coral (fig. 19). — Leave (A) rather 
loose, so that when {B) is pulled (^4) makes a 
three-cornered knot. 

Bead-edging or Braid Stitch (fig. 20). — 
This, like figs. 18 and 19, is worked almost 
entirely on the surface, the back in each case 
being very simple. When carried out in a 
thick twisted silk it is very rich and braid- 
like in appearance. 

Snail-trail (fig. 21). — The same principle 
as single coral, only worked more on the 
slant. 

Darning (fig. 21A). — Ordinary plain darn- 
ing openly worked, as is here shown, is the 
easiest and most straightforward kind of 



Plate No. 60. 



^¥^ I I I I 

SIH61.E COfCfVL- »^CK 



-(N^ II I 



af\CK. 



BmpLtpGIKG* 



/ SNftlL-Tf^^iL 






Stitches, 26 X 



diapering ; and for the purpose of space- 
filling, when a light effect is wanted, it is 
very valuable. Occasionally French knots 
are introduced between each row of stitches, 
and at times the darning is varied by using 
a long and a short stitch alternately. The 
lines of stitches can be taken in a vertical or 
horizontal direction, or at an angle, or effec- 
tively worked with the rows slightly radiat- 
ing. When the stitches are carried across 
in the form of a net, little additions to the 
pattern are made by working a French knot 
in each square created by the crossing, or 
small stitches are taken diagonally across 
the corners of the network squares. Two 
examples of fancy darning are given on 
Plate No. 71, figs. 69 and 70. The best results 
are obtained when a fairly thin thread is 
used. If the work is to be executed on a very 
fine material, it is difficult to adopt the 
usual method of counting the threads for 
each stitch and space for these geometrical 
patterns. But it is well to count the threads 
when possible, or to keep the pattern regular 
by marking a few points for guidance in the 
stitching. See that the marks are only in 
places that will be covered by the stitches. 
The ingenious worker takes great pleasure 



264 Bmbividery. 

in creating delicate diapers and dexterous 
fillings in darning, and finds still greater 
play for her taste in placing these patterns in 
their proper positions in her work. Con- 
trast of texture and tone are all important 
in the balancing of a design. 





Plate No. 6i. 


Q 

22. A 


I 


^'S A 


CAftU- Ja 

-STtTCM [1 


J (SACK. 


vh ^ 


^] 






. ,„.0,„„ " Q. 


— '^ '^ 

.^ tJ> 

< 




O: 




A f : 


allli 


HMm 


y . 6^cK. 


: "1 


le 


7 ' 









Stitches. 267 



Plate No. 61. 

Cable Stitch (fig. 22). — The first stitch of 
all is to make a small link ; then, after 
twisting the needle under and over from the 
right side, insert it into the stuff in front of 
the large loop. 

Cable Stitch with Knot (fig. 23), from the 
old Portuguese piece (Plate No. 33). — It is 
very like fig. 22, but with addition of the 
knot. The needle is placed, as at (B), under 
the left side of the loop, and also under the 
loose thread from the left side, and pulled 
tight, after which the ordinary large loop is 
made. 

Fig. 24 is a stitch found in several old 
pieces of work in the Victoria and Albert 
Museum. It is useful when a band is 
wanted, which will cover well, and yet not 
be too solid. (.4), (B), and (C) for the 
foundation only ; (A ) passes through the 
material, whilst (B) and (C) go under the 
thread only. 

Embroidery Stitch (fig. 24A), Long-and- 
short Stitch, or Feather Stitch (Opus Plumar- 



268 E^nbroidery, 

turn). — So called from its supposed resem- 
blance to the plumage of a bird. Long-and- 
short stitch and embroidery stitch are the 
terms commonly applied, and as it is the 
most universal form of stitching in solid and 
particularly in shaded embroidery, there 
seems little reason to 
quarrel with these 
names, which do serve 
to distinguish the stitch 
from ordinary satin 
stitch, although it is 
closely related to it. 
The system of working 
a long and a short 
stitch, carried alter- 

The Seamstress's Uatcly WCll iu bctwecn 

Feather Stitch. ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^ y-^^^^ ^^-^^ 

a different result to that obtained by 
satin stitch proper. Long-and-short stitch 
is the most useful for shaded work — it enables 
the embroiderer to get delicate gradations of 
colour ; whereas in satin stitch a line of 
division is made by each group of stitches. 
When the dove-tail method is adopted the 
breaking into the previous row of stitches 
does not do away with the marked dividing 
line. With respect to the other name, 




f>late- Ko. 62. 




Stitches. 271 

" feather stitch," this is used by old 
writers in describing the stitch. An ad- 
mirable feathery quality can be produced 
by its use in fine silk. A drawing is given on 
page 268 of what is more commonly accepted 
as feather stitch. To the seamstress this is 
very familiar. On the two examples of 
smock (Plates No. 55 and 56), the whole 
of the decoration outside the smocking is 
worked in this stitch. 



Plate No. 62. 

Fig. 25 is only the foundation stitch on 
which figs. 26, 27, and 28 are all worked. 
It consists of two rows of chain stitches, the 
meshes of which are opposite to each other, 
and through which long, straight crossbars 
are worked. These three also are taken 
from the example on Plate No. 33, and could 
be worked in a hard, strongly glazed thread. 
They would be effective in purse silk. 

Fig. 26. — Two of the bars are taken to- 
gether on which to make this stitch. It has 
the effect of long, chain-like meshes down 
the centre, whilst the thread is whipped 



272 Embroidery. 

round twice, or, if necessary, thrice, on each 
side. After the foundation has been made, 
all the succeeding stitches, A to G, are 
worked on the surface. Stitch A, which 
seems to be too evident, and which must not 
show when the whole is done, goes back- 
wards behind the large loop as soon as E is 
worked. 

Fig. 27. — These straight brick stitches are 
also worked on the surface over the cords, 
but it is as well now and then to carry one 
through the material to keep them steady 
and straight. 

Fig. 28. — These stitches are on the slope, 
and are worked up and then down the bars, 
first behind two bars and then behind one ; 
then, to form the next group, behind two, 
behind one, and so on. 



Plate No. 63. 




Stitches. 275 



Plate No. 63. 

Fig. 29. — Also a form of bricking, the 
stitches being only over the crossbars. It 
is worked in two colours, the stitches set 
obliquely. One shade is carried all the way 
round, following the outer shape, then the 
second all round, and so on, using the shades 
alternately. 

Fig. 30 is again a hrick stitch worked 
through the material, the crossbars being 
used only to raise it and keep the stitches 
even. It is done in two shades of thread, 
two rows of each ; but the two rows are 
done at once, as will be seen by the enlarged 
diagram, where both back and front are 
given. The thread goes behind two, behind 
one, behind two, behind three, this last being 
to regain the lower line so as to be ready to 
go behind two, behind one again. 

Fig. 31. — This stitch, hke most of the 
others in two colours, is taken from the ex- 
ample on Plate No. 33. First attach the six 
or eight long threads at the top, and stitch 
down to the narrow places, then put the long 



276 Embroidery. 

stitch across the width of the border. The 
third time down makes the knot as at ^ , then 
at B, the wide place, puUing out the thread 
to the full width ; the second part of the 
knot, as at 5, is to pull the knot over upon 
the top of the band, so as to have the thread 
in place below the line for the second knot. 

Figs. 32 and 33 are two rather similar 
borders, though worked differently. In fig. 
32 the uprights hardly show when done, and 
are really to raise the stitch. 

Fig- 33- — ^ a-nd Cgo through the material, 
whilst B only goes under the thread in both 
journeys. 



Plate No. 64. 




Stitches, 2 79 



Plate No. 64. 

Fig. 34 is really a sort of Oriental or 
herring-bone in alternate colours, worked 
across on two parallel lines over and under 
so that all the silk is on the surface. The 
needle always points towards the centre. 

Fig. 35. — Two rows of chain stitch, which 
are whipped together with a contrasting 
colour, or in two shades of the same colour. 
The second colour or tint only passes under 
the inside of the meshes, and not through 
the ground. 

Figs. 36 and 37 are similar in effect ; but 
fig. 36 is done on crossbars, and towards the 
worker, whilst fig. 37 is on upright bars, 
and worked away from the worker. 

To produce fig. 36 with alternate rows in 
different colours : after making a chain 
stitch, loop B over two bars, put the needle 
up behind two bars C, and bring it out in the 
centre of the next loop. This, if worked 
with four or five loops only, can be padded 
underneath the bars to look round and 
raised. 



2 8o Embroidery, 

Fig. 37. — A makes the first half of the 
mesh, B the second, and at the same time 
connects it with the next, in the centre of 
which the needle comes out. Two rows are 
worked in one colour, and then change. 

Fig. 38. — The two shades are worked in 
alternate descending lines. B must always 
go over one bar lower than A has done. 

In Figs. 34 to 38 the silk is in every case 
on the surface of the material. 



Plate No. 65. 

Fig. 39 is formed by a " Y "-shaped 
stitch, like fig. 38, and also similar to fig. 
II, only that it is for a border, and in two 
colours ; hence the stitch B has to descend 
low enough to allow space for the second 
shade. The outline to the border could be 
either stem stitch or a fine cord. 

Fig. 40. — This worked in two or more 
colours is very effective, owing to the inter- 
lacing of the threads. Three loops are done 
in each colour. A goes through the material, 



Plate No. 6s 




Stitches. 283 

whilst B is always looped through the pre- 
vious one, and goes under the silk only. 

Figs. 41 and 42 are both worked on an 
open herring-bone foundation, fig. 41 having 
a buttonhole edge, and fig. 42 a stem stitch 
one. 

In fig. 41 the herring-bone is whipped 
with a second shade, which passes only 
under the silk, the needle always being at 
right angles to the long stitch under which 
it has to pass. 

In fig. 42 the knot is made round the 
crossed portion of the herring-bone. In 
knotting the silk at A, which comes under 
and over the needle, starting from right to 
left ; in B over and under the needle also, 
but from the left to the right. 



284 Embroidery. 



Plate No. 66. 

Fig. 43. — Taken from a piece of Indian 
work in beetle's wings and silver thread. 
The jewelled effect of beetle- wings in this 
border suggests possibilities with the use of 
blues, purples, and bottle-green silks. 

They would all have to be the same rela- 
tive weight of colour. The small oblong 
disks could be worked in satin stitch, in 
floss silk, or some very smooth, glossy, and 
untwisted silk. The introduction of the 
aluminium thread would give the effect of 
the silver, but it is rather duller, and does 
not tarnish. 

Fig. 44 is a counter-change pattern from 
an old applique stole of crimson velvet and 
yellow satin outlined in gold. From Mexico, 
Spanish, seventeenth century. 

Fig. 45. — Details given of a border worked 
in satin stitch, fine silk gimp, and French 
knots. Italian, sixteenth century. 

Fig. 46 is a very simple example of 
counterchange ornaments. 



Plate No. 66. 



m 




" "» ■ "9 "" 'T 



SOKpCR 9r fttCTLES VMINGS, StqoiNS & SILVER THKtA^. 




C»pwTi.K.-c«nHc,iNfi *irru«ut' aoK^Ef^. 



iL^U^imiM 




OUHXtR-CM*\NatN<H #\rrU90t' ftORpgf^. 



Plate No. 67. 




Ch.ira.e;>e WorK 



Stitches. 289 



Plate No. 67. 

Figs. 47, 48, and 49 are all taken from 
Chinese work, and show their rigid method of 
shading in blocks. 

Fig 47 is termed " encroaching shading." 
In it the stitches are all evenly lengthened 
beyond the amount visible in the finished 
work ; the following row is then taken up 
into the previous stitches (dove-tailed), so 
that a raised line (following the outline in 
shape) is made, which only on close examina- 
tion proves not to be corded underneath. 

Fig. 48 is an example of shading done 
entirely with French knots (on the same 
principle as the reproduction of the Chinese 
rose on page 249) ; the dotted lines show the 
area of each different colour. The outline is 
in fine gold, and, if carefully followed, it will 
be seen that it is so cleverly managed as to 
necessitate no break through the whole 
flower. 

Fig. 49 is given to show how the Chinese 
use the change of direction of their stitches 
in this block -shading to give variety ; also 

u 



2 90 Embroidery. 

to emphasise the value of voiding — that is, 
leaving the ground to show all round each 
petal and mass in a manner which is rather 
similar to the use of ties in stencilhng. 



Plate No. 68. 

For getting the full value of the gloss and 
brilliancy of the silks the system adopted in 
the working of what is known as " laid 
work " cannot be beaten. This form of 
embroidery has, however, one great draw- 
back — it is not very strong, and if the surface 
to be covered by the work is large, it will 
not wear well. There is a beautifully pre- 
served example of laid work in the Victoria 
and Albert Museum (see reproduction of 
chalice veil on Plate No. 42) which proves 
that, when well sewn, it can with care be 
made to last for a long time. 

Fig. 50. — Plain couching on " laid em- 
broidery." First lay the threads evenly 
from side to side of the space to be filled. The 
needle, after passing through the material — 
at the edge or boundary of the leaf or 
flower form — is brought up again, not quite 



Plate No. 68. 



COUCttlN^ roR OUTLINE. 

OR E^,N<5 ^PPiaWe' WHEN CORPS 

ARC NOT U5Ep, 



^A^i^H 



PWIN COUCHING 
ON k^lp-WORK 



-I ' II 
jIIii 

Couching 






^tii§i*^«BaE.STsr,N^. 



xTRtNr^. 



SltX.TVVlST. 



OVCK.STR|H<5. 






£NP5-or 



Mini 


55. 


5 




up 

11% 


ill i 
III. 


"i 


iIin'iI 






fSA^KET STiTCH. 






Stitches. 293 

close, but at a distance to allow an in- 
termediate stitch being taken backwards, 
thus laying the threads alternately first, 
third, second, fourth, and so on ; in this 
way you get a better hold at each end of 
the line than when laid consecutively. As 
the leaf or form curves your lines of laid work 
will gradually follow, opening a little at one 
end and closing a little at the other. When 
the layer is complete, threads are laid across 
at pleasant and fairly regular intervals, 
following or suggesting the growth (as in 
this example). These threads are fixed 
down by stitches from the back (couched). 

Fig. 51. — Couching for outline or edging 
applique. A thick strand of filoselle, double 
crewel, tapestry wool, or narrow ribbon, as 
the worker may choose, is laid on the surface 
of the material and stitched at regular inter- 
vals by threads crossing at right angles and 
holding it down. 

Fig. 52. — Gold * carried over string, and 
couched on both sides of the string with 
coloured silk. 

Fig- 53. — Silk twist over string, couched. 

* Embroidery in gold was by the Romans attributed 
to the Phrygians. It was therefore called Opus 
Phrygium. 



294 Embroidery. 

The twist is laid down two strands together, 
and is stretched across on each side of the 
string. This makes a pleasing border. One 
string, for variety, is thicker than the other. 

Fig. 54. Diaper Couching. — Gold, silk 
cords, purse silk, or even untwisted silk may 
be used for laying down. By varying the 
position of the fastening stitches a number of 
simple patterns may be produced. 

Fig. 55. Basket Stitch. — Rows of padding, 
in the form of cotton, cord, or macrame 
string, are first laid across the surface of the 
material and securely fixed down. Gold 
threads are then placed across them, two 
at a time, which are stitched down over 
the padding — usually two rows of these 
(making four gold threads together). Then 
the next two rows are treated as brick stitch, 
and fastened exactly between the previous 
stitchings. Strong silk must be used, or 
horse-tail rubbed with beeswax, for stitching 
down the gold. Basket stitch is one of the 
most ancient methods of couching. It is 
very handsome and ornamental. 

Fig. 56. — Disk of gold thread couched with 
red silk. The play of light on the gold when 
wound round in this fashion gives a jewel- 
like appearance. In the illustration on 



Plate No. 69. 




Stitches, 297 

Plate No. 18 it will be seen that the 
whole of the background is patterned with 
little disks of gold in spiral fashion. 



Plate No. 69. 

Figs. 57, 58, 59, and 60 represent four 
borders which are worked in gold passing. 
For figs. 57 and 58 macrame string is sewn 
firmly along the lines of the design ; the 
string must never cross, but be cut off and 
begun again. The double passing is laid 
backwards and forwards the whole width of 
the border, and stitched firmly with waxed 
horse-tail each side of the strings. For 
fig. 59 the centres are padded with a soft 
cotton called stuffing cotton, and in fig. 
60 the design is cut out in cardboard tacked 
down in its place and the gold laid across, 
and stitched down on each side, as over 
string in the other figures. 



9 8 Embro idery. 



Plate No. 70 

Figs. 61 and 61A explain how tambour 
gold is used over cardboard. The design 
should be first drawn on the material, then 
it is cut out in cardboard. Each petal or 
shape must be rather smaller to allow for 
the gold going over the card without en- 
larging the design. Place the pieces of 
cardboard within the lines of the design on 
the material and tack them firmly down, 
lay the tambour (used double, like passing) 
backwards and forwards, and stitch firmly 
with waxed horse-tail at each side of the 
card ; the centre of this figure is filled in 
with basket stitch. 

Fig. 62 is an example showing the use of 
purl. 

Purl is made of the finest gold wire twisted 
to form a round tube. It must be handled 
very carefully, as it is elastic, and if once 
stretched is quite useless. First lay it on a 
piece of cloth, and cut the required lengths 
with short, sharp nail-scissors which meet 
well at the points. The pieces are then 



Plate No. 70. 



<8SS\\\W|llll/,,.*IW////5, 



^^siisa 



Fig.61. 



TAMBOUR 





FiQ.6l 



TAMBOUR COLD OVEIR 
CARDBOARD. EnU»'gecl 

GOLD OVER C^RDBOARD IN CONJUNCTION exz^rnpk- 

WITH BASKET STITCH 

:l 



^1^) e^^ 





Fig. 62. 

METHOD OF WORKING A FLOWER IN ROUGH PURL. 




Fig.63 

PURL. USED 
OVER PADDING 



The crossed lines are in 

PLATEJHE FLOWERS IN FURL- 



Stitches. 301 

threaded like beads, as in fig. 62 and the 
flowers in fig. 64. It is quite simple to work. 
Bring the silk up at the base or edge of the 
figure to be worked, thread on the needle a 
piece of purl the length required, take the 
silk back close to where it came up, and secure 
the loop with a stitch, as shown in flower, 
fig. 62. Rough purl is used for the petals 
of the flower, and a straight stitch of bright 
purl fills the centre of each petal. 

Purl embroidery over padding is more 
difficult. The simplest way of padding is a 
single row of macrame string ; but that can 
only be used when the lines of the design are 
narrow and fairly even in thickness all over, 
as in fig. 63. 

If the design has lines very varying in 
width, yellow stuffing cotton must be used. 
Lay as many thicknesses of the stuffing 
cotton as the design requires, and stitch over 
from side to side, letting the padding be 
highest in the middle and rounding down 
to the sides. As the design widens, add 
more cotton, one thickness at a time (cut 
the ends slanting) ; and when the design 
becomes narrower, cut away the cotton 
slantwise, one thickness at a time. Do- not 
grudge time and pains spent in padding. 



302 Eiiibroidery. 

for the success in purl embroidery depends 
largely upon the smoothness of the padding. 

Bring the needle up on one side of the 
design, thread a piece of purl, and take the 
needle down at the opposite edge, giving the 
silk a firm pull so that the purl lies immov- 
able over the padding. At first it is difficult 
to cut the purl exactly the right length, but 
that comes with practice. If the pieces are 
too short, little gaps are left at the sides ; 
and if too long, the pieces lie loosely on the 
surface. The purl must be so firm in posi- 
tion that you can pass your finger along 
without displacing them. It must look as 
though it has actually been taken through 
the material like satin stitch. .Purl may be 
worked in a slanting direction, as in fig. 63, 
or straight across. 

Rough and smooth purl may be used 
together, two stitches of one and two of 
the other alternately ; or for monograms, 
one letter may be rough and the other 
smooth. 

Pearl purl is used for outlining purl em- 
broidery. Basket stitch can be worked in 
purl — i.e. lay the padding as before de- 
scribed, and cut the purl long enough to cover 
the strings or padding. Horse-tail silk for 



Stitch 



es. 



purl embroidery should be well waxed. 
Silk purl in a variety of colours is made (over 
wire), and can be used with great effect. It 
is worked in the same way as the gold. 
In this drawing of a leaf in gold threads 




OF THE COUCHING WITH RED SILK 
IS INDICATED AT A". IT IS CARRIED 
ALL ROUND THE LEAF 3^ ALONG 
EACH LOOP. 



Fig. 65A. 

(fig. 65A) it will be seen that the threads are 
carried backwards and forwards without a 
break. Commencing with two threads at 
the point of the leaf, they are continued 
through to the base of the form where the 
ends are buried beneath the stem. A fresh 
start with the thread is made for the stem 



304 Embroidery. 

and centre vein of the leaf. The red silk 
used for couching is so thick as to form a red 
line of close stitches round the leaf. The 
middle of the figure is slightly raised (padded). 
Plate is sometimes crimped before it is 
used. Alternate rows of crimped plate and 
fine gold cord, or passing used double, are 
very effective for a circle, nimbus, or rays. 
In old embroideries crimped plate is laid 
backwards and forwards for the centres of 
flowers and turnover of leaves, etc. 



Plate No. 71. 

Fig. 65 illustrates an interesting treat- 
ment of a pomegranate in gold work. The 
outside crescent forms are in tambour gold 
used over cardboard or vellum. The threads 
are here represented more often than in the 
actual example in order to explain the work- 
ing. The centre of the fruit is produced by 
the use of gold threads couched. The run 
of the thread can be easily followed in the 
diagram. 

Fig. 66 is called cushion stitch.^ It is 
worked on a canvas or loosely woven 
* Also canvas stitch, 



Plate No. 71. 





FiQ.66. 

CUSHION 5TITCH. 



TAMBOUR GOLD USED 
OVER CARDBOARD OR 
VELLUM. 



Fig. 68. 

JAPANESE STITCH 



D<Dk( . 



Fig. 69. Froni. BavcK. 

FANCY DARNING. 



Fig. 67. 

BURDEN STITCH 



Ba^cK. 



Fig. 70. Froni 

HONELYCOMB DARNING. 



X 



Stitches. 307 

material, and is similar to laid embroidery, 
inasmuch as all the silk or crewel is on 
the surface, and only a single thread of the 
ground is taken up each time. Usually the 
stitches make a pattern formed on zigzag or 
meandering lines. The effect when finished 
is rather like a woven fabric. 

Fig. 67. — Burden stitch was used a great 
deal for flesh work in the fourteenth- and 
fifteenth-century embroideries, no doubt 
worked in a frame on a fabric of fine, even 
threads. The same amount of silk appears 
on the back as on the surface of the material. 

Fig. 68. — Japanese stitch consists of long 
stitches of equal length; the needle is brought 
back each time within a short distance of the 
starting-place. Their appearance should be 
that of even, parallel lines. This system of 
stitching is frequently found in old work. 

The Opus Anglicum, or Anglicanum, de- 
scribed rather vaguely as English work, which 
is referred to by Dr. Rock in his " Catalogue 
on Textile Fabrics" as being the stitch 
chiefly used in the " Syon Cope " (Plate 
No. 21), was introduced about the middle 
of the thirteenth century, and used strictly 
for ecclesiastical purposes. 

The foregoing typical stitches form the 



3o8 Embroidery. 

basis of all embroidery. On these numbers 
of others are constantly invented by in- 
genious workers. It is said, by authorities 
there are only about seven or eight necessary 
stitches to learn in embroidery, and when 
the worker has once mastered those, if at all 
inventive, numerous others will follow. 
Never be afraid to unpick your work ; a 
small piece badly done may spoil the whole 
embroidery. Stitches constantly vary in 
their application. In some instances, to 
avoid waste of material, experienced em- 
broideresses work as much on the surface as 
.^^^ possible, while others do not trouble them- 
selves about the quantity of material on the 
wrong side. In any circumstances see that 
your work is well finished at the back. 



61 



1 ' ' 



Printed and bound by Hazell, Watson &• Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury. 






If .^^^ 






^ ^ - 






o 



V I B 



,0o^ 






.0^ 






.^^^~-V"'> 



^V </>, 






^ci-, ^ 









,0 









0- 






.^-^^^.^ 



^b. 



f> ^ •- A. ^o. 



"oo^ 









\s^ 






.<^ ■^■' 



* A 



■^ 



0^ ■ 






* . ^fL. 



^-^ ^\ 





J ^'^-... 


'-^^ 




.^^^' 


'"v. ^.^-feij 
























9 I "V 



^ 



.-^ 






. \ ' « 



% 









.-P- ^ 



, t I B 






5.0 °<. 



.^"^..V- 



^r-o. 



-'^■^-■c .^ 






^^ > 






'^■^ 









c^, • 



A^^--V 






'f o. 



I 



.0 a 



^Y^^^-. '' ^ 



-/ ^ 



.-^^ 









'. ^^ 



0- s 



^ A 



.'-^ 



.'v^^ . 



'OO^ 









.0 a. 



.0^ 



^^ 


S^ 


*ci 


r 






'^ 


.^" 




^ 


j^ 


^;: 






■^^ \] 


^^ 


^/ 


' * 

\ 


,^' 






■ o^ < 




^ s 


\U' 


"^ 


f^ 


/' '''^P- 




^-^ 










"o 


0^ 


cP- 








- 


v^' 


'^> 


r. 




'^ H \ 


\ 


■\x^^ 






^*-. 


■J' 



4*-. --ft. 



■^-^ 






'^ 



>^ %:^^^.* ,^ 



^^ -^ 



'' . v- 



.''b. 



'^^ v^' 






.x^^^ 












'^z. ^ 



A> 



,0^ v'' 



^A v^^ 



.^ -^ ^^ 



UeRARY OF CONGRESS 




014 145 686 6 



':m 



m 

m 



./;.;■.. ;'■ 


■ ■■'■.'■ml 


. .■' \l . 


^•^:i;:i!i;| 


■• m''' ,• ' '■ 


„■■■■;■>!';;■;! if 


;',/^••';;>,|^ 


:=i^'=:il 




iiil 










